Slidable telecommunications tray with cable slack management

ABSTRACT

A fiber optic telecommunications device includes a rack for mounting a plurality of chassis, each chassis including a plurality of trays slidably mounted thereon and arranged in a vertically stacked arrangement. Each tray includes fiber optic connection locations and a cable manager coupled to the tray and also coupled to the chassis, the cable manager for routing cables to and from the fiber optic connection locations and defining a plurality of link arms pivotally connected such that the manager retracts and extends with a corresponding movement of the tray, wherein the link arms pivot relative to each other to prevent cables managed therein from being bent in an arc having a radius of curvature less than a predetermined value, each link arm defining a top wall, a bottom wall, and two oppositely positioned sidewalls, each link arm defining an open portion along at least one of the sidewalls and an open portion along the top wall for receiving cables therein, the open portions along the top wall and the at least one of the sidewalls communicating with each other.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/802,083, filed Nov. 2, 2017; which is a continuation of U.S.Application Ser. No. 15/363,016, filed Nov. 29, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No.9,810,869; which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/830,009, filed on Aug. 19, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,523,833; whichis a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/169,941, filed on Jan.31, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,128,262; which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. Nos. 61/761,009, filed on Feb. 5, 2013;61/763,347, filed on Feb. 11, 2013; 61/843,744, filed on Jul. 8, 2013;and 61/843,977, filed on Jul. 9, 2013, which applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to fiber optictelecommunications equipment. More specifically, the present disclosurerelates to a slidable fiber optic tray or blade designed for highdensity applications and a rack or frame configured to support aplurality of such fiber optic trays.

BACKGROUND

In telecommunications industry, the demand for added capacity is growingrapidly. This demand is being met in part by the increasing use anddensity of fiber optic transmission equipment. Even though fiber opticequipment permits higher levels of transmission in the same or smallerfootprint than traditional copper transmission equipment, the demandrequires even higher levels of fiber density. This has led to thedevelopment of high-density fiber handling equipment.

An example of this type of equipment is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,051(the '051 patent) assigned to ADC Telecommunications, Inc. This patentconcerns a high-density fiber distribution frame and high-density fibertermination blocks (FTBs) which are mounted to the frame. Because of thelarge number of optical fibers passing into and out of the FTBs, theframe and blocks have a variety of structures to organize and manage thefibers. Some structures are used to aid the fibers entering the back ofthe frame and FTBs. Other structures are provided for managing thecables leaving the FTBs on the front. The FTBs also include structuresfor facilitating access to the densely packed terminations. One suchstructure is a slidable adapter module that is incorporated into theFTBs to allow selective access to the densely packed terminations insidethe FTBs.

Further development in such fiber termination systems is desired.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to fiber optic telecommunicationsdevices. The telecommunications devices include slidable fiber opticconnection trays or blades with features for cable slack management andracks or frames supporting panels or chassis that house such slidabletrays in stacked arrangements.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a fiber optictelecommunications device defines a telecommunications chassis formounting on a telecommunications frame. The chassis includes a pluralityof fiber optic trays slidably mounted on the chassis, the fiber optictrays arranged in a vertically stacked arrangement, each fiber optictray slidable between a closed storage position and an open accessposition. Each fiber optic tray includes fiber optic connectionlocations for connecting cables to be routed through thetelecommunications frame and a cable manager coupled at a first end tothe fiber optic tray and coupled at a second end to thetelecommunications chassis. The cable manager is configured for routingcables to and from the fiber optic connection locations, the cablemanager defining a plurality of link arms that are pivotally connectedto each other such that the cable manager retracts and extends with acorresponding movement of the tray as the link arms pivot with respectto each other, wherein the link arms are configured to pivot relative toeach other to prevent fiber optic cables managed therein from being bentin an arc having a radius of curvature that is less than a predeterminedvalue during the movement of the tray. Each link arm defines a top wall,a bottom wall, and two oppositely positioned sidewalls, wherein eachlink arm defines an open portion along at least one of the sidewalls andan open portion along the top wall for receiving fiber optic cablestherein, the open portions along the top wall and the at least one ofthe sidewalls communicating with each other.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a fiber optictelecommunications device defines a telecommunications rack for mountinga plurality of telecommunications chassis, wherein each chassis includesa plurality of fiber optic trays slidably mounted on the chassis, thefiber optic trays arranged in a vertically stacked arrangement, eachfiber optic tray slidable between a closed storage position and an openaccess position. Each fiber optic tray includes fiber optic connectionlocations for connecting cables to be routed through thetelecommunications frame and a cable manager coupled at a first end tothe fiber optic tray and coupled at a second end to thetelecommunications chassis, the cable manager configured for routingcables to and from the fiber optic connection locations, the cablemanager defining a plurality of link arms that are pivotally connectedto each other such that the cable manager retracts and extends with acorresponding movement of the tray as the link arms pivot with respectto each other, wherein the link arms are configured to pivot relative toeach other to prevent fiber optic cables managed therein from being bentin an arc having a radius of curvature that is less than a predeterminedvalue during the movement of the tray. Each link arm defines a top wall,a bottom wall, and two oppositely positioned sidewalls, wherein eachlink arm defines an open portion along at least one of the sidewalls andan open portion along the top wall for receiving fiber optic cablestherein, the open portions along the top wall and the at least one ofthe sidewalls communicating with each other.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a fiber optic trayincludes first and second slide portions for slidably mounting the trayto a telecommunications fixture and a connection portion located betweenthe first and second slide portions. Fiber optic connection locationsare defined by the connection portion of the tray for connecting cablesand a cable manager is coupled at a first end to the fiber optic trayand defines a second end for coupling to the telecommunications fixturereceiving the tray. The cable manager is configured for routing cablesto and from the fiber optic connection locations, the cable managerdefining a plurality of link arms that are pivotally connected to eachother such that the cable manager retracts and extends with acorresponding movement of the tray with respect to the fixture as thelink arms pivot with respect to each other. The link arms are configuredto pivot relative to each other to prevent fiber optic cables managedtherein from being bent in an arc having a radius of curvature that isless than a predetermined value during the movement of the tray, eachlink arm defining a top wall, a bottom wall, and two oppositelypositioned sidewalls, wherein each link arm defines an open portionalong at least one of the sidewalls and an open portion along the topwall for receiving fiber optic cables therein, the open portions alongthe top wall and the at least one of the sidewalls communicating witheach other.

A variety of additional inventive aspects will be set forth in thedescription that follows. The inventive aspects can relate to individualfeatures and combinations of features. It is to be understood that boththe foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broadinventive concepts upon which the embodiments disclosed herein arebased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front, right, top partially exploded perspective view of ahigh-density fiber distribution chassis configured to support aplurality of slidable fiber optic connection trays or blades havingfeatures that are examples of inventive aspects in accordance with theprinciples of the present disclosure mounted in a stacked arrangementthereon;

FIG. 2 illustrates the high-density fiber distribution chassis of FIG. 1in a partially assembled configuration, shown with a main or mastercontroller circuit board of the chassis being slidably mounted thereon;

FIG. 3 illustrates the first and second tray assemblies of the chassisof FIG. 1 in a partially exploded configuration, the tray assembliesshown outside of the chassis;

FIG. 4 illustrates the first and second tray assemblies of FIG. 3 in anassembled configuration outside of the chassis;

FIG. 5 illustrates the first tray assembly of FIG. 3 in an explodedconfiguration outside of the chassis;

FIG. 6 illustrates the first tray assembly of FIG. 5 in an assembledconfiguration;

FIG. 7 illustrates the electrical communication pathways via circuitboards for the entire chassis of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 8 illustrates the electrical communication pathways via circuitboards for one of the first trays of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a close-up view illustrating the routing of a flexible circuitboard in the form of a ribbon cable from a mounting block to one of thetrays of the first tray assembly;

FIG. 10 is a top cross-sectional view illustrating the routing of theflexible circuit board in the form of a ribbon cable from the centermounting portion of the tray to the fiber optic connection locations ofthe tray;

FIG. 11 is a close-up view of a portion of the flexible circuit board ofFIG. 10 that transitions from the center mounting portion of the tray tothe main connection portion of the tray;

FIG. 12 is a close-up view of another portion of the flexible circuitboard of FIG. 10 within the center mounting portion of the tray;

FIG. 13 illustrates one of the first trays exploded from the mountingblock of the first tray assembly;

FIG. 14 is a close-up view illustrating the interaction between one ofthe stop surfaces within one of the channels of the mounting block andone of the stop tabs of a tray of the first tray assembly;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the center mountingportion of one of the trays within one of the channels of the mountingblock of the first tray assembly;

FIG. 16 is a perspective cross-sectional view illustrating theinteraction between the stop tab of one of the trays and the stopsurface within one of the channels of the mounting block when a tray hasbeen pulled fully forwardly with respect to the mounting block;

FIG. 17 illustrates a close-up view of the stop tab and the stop surfaceof FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a partial exploded view showing the cable management portionof one of the first trays of the first tray assembly of FIG. 3, thecable management portion defined at least in part by a link arm assemblythat connects between the right end support and the tray of the trayassembly, the link arm assembly formed by a plurality of cablemanagement link arms;

FIG. 19 is a close-up view showing the pivotal coupling of the link armassembly to the right end support of the tray assembly;

FIG. 20 is a top, right, front perspective view of the chassis of FIG. 1without the top chassis cover mounted thereon to illustrate an examplecable routing configuration for one of the first trays within thechassis;

FIG. 21 is a top view of the chassis of FIG. 20 without the chassiscover thereon;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the chassis of FIG. 1, with one of thetrays fully pulled out to an open position, illustrating an examplecable routing configuration within the tray;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a managedconnectivity rack housing a plurality of 4RU chassis having featuressimilar to those of the 1RU chassis of FIG. 1;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the rack of FIG. 23, shown without anychassis mounted thereon;

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the rack of FIG. 23, shown with anumber of the cable management features removed therefrom to illustratethe cable path from the rack controller to the individual chassismounted within the rack;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a managedconnectivity rack housing a plurality of 4RU chassis having featuressimilar to those of the 1RU chassis of FIG. 1, the second embodiment ofthe rack having features similar to the rack of FIGS. 23-25;

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of the rack of FIG. 26, shown without anychassis mounted thereon;

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the rack of FIG. 26, shown with anumber of the cable management features removed therefrom to illustratethe cable path from the rack controller to the individual chassismounted within the rack;

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a managedconnectivity rack housing a plurality of 4RU chassis having featuressimilar to those of the 1RU chassis of FIG. 1, the third embodiment ofthe rack having features similar to the racks of FIGS. 23-28;

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the rack of FIG. 29, shown without anychassis mounted thereon;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of the rack of FIG. 29, shown with anumber of the cable management features removed therefrom to illustratethe cable path from the rack controller to the individual chassismounted within the rack;

FIG. 32 is a rear, top, left perspective view of a rack similar to oneof the racks of FIGS. 23-31 shown with a bus-bar mounted thereon forgrounding an armored cable;

FIG. 33 is a rear, bottom, left perspective view of the rack of FIG. 32;

FIG. 34 is a rear view of the rack of FIG. 32;

FIG. 35 illustrates the rack of FIG. 33 with the bus-bar removed fromthe bus-bar support of the rack;

FIG. 36 illustrates a rear, top, left perspective view of the rack ofFIG. 35;

FIG. 37 illustrates a rear view of the rack of FIG. 35;

FIG. 38 is a perspective view of one of the rear horizontal troughs ofthe rack of FIGS. 32-37 shown in isolation, the horizontal troughconfigured for mounting the bus-bar support of the rack;

FIG. 39 is a front perspective view of the bus-bar support and thebus-bar located therein for mounting to the rack of FIGS. 32-37;

FIG. 40 is a top view of the bus-bar support and the bus-bar of FIG. 39;

FIG. 41 is a bottom view of the bus-bar support and the bus-bar of FIG.39;

FIG. 42 is a front view of the bus-bar support and the bus-bar of FIG.39;

FIG. 43 is a rear perspective view of the bus-bar support and thebus-bar of FIG. 39;

FIG. 44 is a perspective view of a top cover of the bus-bar support ofthe rack of FIGS. 32-37;

FIG. 45 is a perspective view of a bottom cover of the bus-bar supportof the rack of FIGS. 32-37;

FIG. 46 is a bottom, front perspective view of the bus-bar of the rackof FIGS. 32-37;

FIG. 47 is a front view of the bus-bar of FIG. 46;

FIG. 48 is a bottom view of the bus-bar of FIG. 46;

FIG. 49 is a front, right, top partially exploded perspective view ofone of the 4RU high-density fiber distribution chassis shown removedfrom the racks of FIGS. 23-37;

FIG. 50 illustrates the high-density fiber distribution chassis of FIG.49 in a partially assembled configuration, shown with a main or mastercontroller circuit board of the chassis being slidably mounted thereon;

FIG. 51 illustrates the first and second tray assemblies of the chassisof FIG. 49 in a partially exploded configuration, the tray assembliesshown outside of the chassis;

FIG. 52 illustrates the first and second tray assemblies of FIG. 51 inan assembled configuration outside of the chassis;

FIG. 53 illustrates the first tray assembly of FIG. 51 in an explodedconfiguration outside of the chassis;

FIG. 54 illustrates the first tray assembly of FIG. 53 in an assembledconfiguration;

FIG. 55 illustrates the electrical communication pathways via circuitboards for the entire chassis of FIGS. 49-50;

FIG. 56 is a partial exploded view showing the cable management portionof one of the first trays of the first tray assembly of FIG. 51;

FIG. 57 is a close-up view showing the pivotal coupling of the link armassembly of the first tray to a right end support of the tray assemblyof FIG. 56;

FIG. 58 is a top, right, front perspective view of the chassis of FIG.49 without the top chassis cover mounted thereon to illustrate anexample cable routing configuration for one of the first trays withinthe chassis;

FIG. 59 is a close-up view of the cable management portion of the firsttray of the first tray assembly of FIG. 58;

FIG. 60 is a top view of the chassis of FIG. 58 without the chassiscover thereon;

FIG. 61 is a perspective view of the chassis of FIG. 49, with one of thetrays fully pulled out to an open position, illustrating an examplecable routing configuration within the tray;

FIG. 62 is a front, right, top perspective view of another embodiment ofa 1RU high-density fiber distribution chassis configured to support aplurality of slidable fiber optic connection trays or blades havingfeatures that are examples of inventive aspects in accordance with theprinciples of the present disclosure mounted in a stacked arrangementthereon, the chassis of FIG. 62 including features similar to the 1RUchassis of FIGS. 1-22;

FIG. 63 is a partially exploded view of the chassis of FIG. 62;

FIG. 64 is a partially exploded view of the chassis of FIG. 63, shownwith the top chassis cover removed completely to illustrate the trayassemblies mounted therein, the cable management portions for two of thetrays shown exploded off the chassis;

FIG. 65 illustrates the chassis of FIG. 64 with the trays shown explodedoff the chassis;

FIG. 66 illustrates the chassis of FIG. 65 with the ends supports andthe center divider assembly of the chassis shown exploded off thechassis;

FIG. 67 illustrates the center divider assembly of the chassis in anexploded configuration;

FIG. 68 illustrates the right end support of the chassis in an explodedconfiguration, the right end support configured to house the maincontroller or PCB of the chassis;

FIG. 69 is a side view of the removable end cap of the right end supportof the chassis, the end cap shown with the end cap cover removed toillustrate the end cap lever features;

FIG. 70 illustrates one of the first trays of the first tray assembly ofthe chassis of FIGS. 62-65 in isolation with the cable managementportion of the tray removed;

FIG. 71 is a partially exploded view of the tray of FIG. 70 with thetray PCB cover exploded off the tray;

FIG. 71A is a close-up view of a portion of the tray of FIG. 71;

FIG. 72 is a fully exploded view of the tray of FIG. 70, with portionsof the slide assembly of the tray removed to illustrate the featuresthereof;

FIG. 73 is a top view of the slide assembly of the tray with the topcover of the center rail of the slide assembly removed to illustrate therouting of the flexible circuit board in the form of a ribbon cablewithin the slide assembly;

FIG. 74 illustrates a partially exploded view of the mounting rail ofthe slide assembly of FIG. 72;

FIG. 74A is a close-up view of a portion of the tray of FIG. 74;

FIG. 75 illustrates the tray of FIG. 70 removed from the slide assemblyof FIG. 72, the tray defining a main connection portion, a centermounting portion, and a side mounting portion;

FIG. 76 illustrates an exploded view of a cable management portion ofone of the first trays of the first tray assembly of the chassis ofFIGS. 62-65;

FIG. 77 illustrates a portion of a fully assembled configuration of thecable management portion of the first tray of FIG. 76;

FIG. 78 illustrates an exploded view of a cable management portion ofone of the second trays of the second tray assembly of the chassis ofFIGS. 62-65;

FIG. 79 illustrates the electrical communication pathways via circuitboards for the entire chassis of FIG. 62;

FIG. 80 illustrates a mounting panel for the top PCB of the chassis, themounting panel configured to mount the top PCB to the top chassis coverof the chassis of FIG. 62.

FIG. 81 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a pivot door thatcan be used with the chassis of FIGS. 62-80;

FIG. 82 is a partially exploded view of the pivot door of FIG. 81; FIG.82A is a close-up view of a portion of the pivot door of FIG. 82;

FIG. 83 is another exploded view of the pivot door of FIG. 81;

FIG. 84 is a close-up, rear view of the spring latch mechanism of thedoor of FIG. 81 with the cover removed;

FIG. 85 is a close-up, front view of the spring latch mechanism inisolation removed from the door of FIG. 81, the spring latch mechanismshown in a latched position;

FIG. 86 illustrates the spring latch mechanism of FIG. 85 in anunlatched or open position;

FIG. 87 illustrates another version of a link arm assembly including acompression spring assembly provided between a first link arm and asecond link arm connected thereto;

FIG. 87A is a close-up view of a portion of the link arm assembly ofFIG. 87;

FIG. 88 illustrates the link arms of FIG. 87 from a top view;

FIG. 89 illustrates the compression spring assembly exploded off thefirst link arm of FIG. 87;

FIG. 90 is a perspective view of a spring housing of the compressionspring assembly of FIG. 87;

FIG. 91 is a top view of the spring housing of FIG. 90;

FIG. 92 is a bottom view of the spring housing of FIG. 90;

FIG. 93 is a perspective view of a slider of the compression springassembly of FIG. 87;

FIG. 94 is another perspective view of the slider of FIG. 93;

FIG. 95 is a front view of the slider of FIG. 93;

FIG. 96 illustrates a perspective view of the link arm assembly of FIG.87 with a pair of first fanouts mounted on the first link arm;

FIG. 97 illustrates another perspective view of the link arm assembly ofFIG. 96;

FIG. 98 illustrates a top view of the link arm assembly of FIG. 96;

FIG. 99 illustrates the first fanouts exploded from the first link armof the link arm assembly of FIG. 96;

FIG. 100 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line 100-100 of FIG.98;

FIG. 101 illustrates a perspective view of the link arm assembly of FIG.87 with a pair of second fanouts mounted on the first link arm;

FIG. 102 illustrates another perspective view of the link arm assemblyof FIG. 101;

FIG. 103 illustrates a top view of the link arm assembly of FIG. 96;

FIG. 104 illustrates the second fanouts exploded from the first link armof the link arm assembly of FIG. 101;

FIG. 105 illustrates in an exploded configuration one of the secondfanouts and a fanout holder used for mounting one of the second fanoutsto the first link arm of the link arm assembly of FIG. 101;

FIG. 106 is a front perspective view of the second fanout and the fanoutholder of FIG. 105 in an assembled configuration;

FIG. 107 is a rear perspective view of the second fanout and the fanoutholder of FIG. 106;

FIG. 108 is a top view of the second fanout and the fanout holder ofFIG. 106;

FIG. 109 is a bottom view of the second fanout and the fanout holder ofFIG. 106;

FIG. 110 is a side view of the second fanout and the fanout holder ofFIG. 106;

FIG. 111 is a front view of the second fanout and the fanout holder ofFIG. 106;

FIG. 112 is a front perspective view of the fanout holder of FIG. 105shown in isolation;

FIG. 113 is a rear perspective view of the fanout holder of FIG. 112;

FIG. 114 is a top view of the fanout holder of FIG. 112;

FIG. 115 is a bottom view of the fanout holder of FIG. 112;

FIG. 116 is a side view of the fanout holder of FIG. 112;

FIG. 117 is a front view of the fanout holder of FIG. 112;

FIG. 118 is a rear view of the fanout holder of FIG. 112;

FIG. 119 illustrates another embodiment of a slide assembly for mountinga tray such as the tray of FIG. 70 to a chassis, the slide assemblyshown in a partially exploded configuration;

FIG. 119A illustrates a close-up view of the locking features of theslide assembly of FIG. 119 for locking the tray at pulled-out positionsor at a central position within the chassis;

FIG. 120 is a top view of the slide assembly of FIG. 119 with the topcover of the center rail of the slide assembly removed to illustrate theinternal locking features thereof;

FIG. 120A is a close-up view of a front end portion of the slideassembly of FIG. 120;

FIG. 120B is a close-up view of a rear end portion of the slide assemblyof FIG. 120;

FIG. 121 illustrates the slide assembly of FIG. 119 when the tray is ata forward, pulled-out position;

FIG. 121A is a close-up top view of a front end portion of the slideassembly of FIG. 121; and

FIG. 121B is a close-up top view of a rear end portion of the slideassembly of FIG. 121.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to examples of inventive aspects ofthe present disclosure which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

The fiber optic telecommunications devices shown in FIGS. 1-48 are highdensity distribution racks or frames and panels or chassis mountedtherein, wherein each chassis or panel is configured to house aplurality of slidable trays or blades. The trays are configured tosupport multiple fiber optic connections. According to one embodiment,the panels or the racks housing the panels can be managed deviceswherein the connections can be monitored to verify that the connectorshave been installed into the correct connection locations (e.g.,adapters) and have not been disturbed. The panels may be available in1-rack-unit (1RU) and 4-rack-unit (4RU) sizes. According to oneembodiment, the 1RU panels may house 144 mated LC connector pairs, 72 SCconnector pairs or 48 MPO connector pairs. The 4RU panels may house fourtimes the number of connections as the 1RU units with the samefunctionality.

Within each panel and within each tray or blade, the connectionlocations defined by, for example, an adapter block assembly, which isused to connect fiber optic connectors, may be accessible from both thefront and the back of the panel. An adapter block assembly may beinstalled onto a sliding tray and may reside toward the center portionof the panel. Using a portion of the tray which may define a pull handleor a pull arm, the tray can be slid forward to access the frontconnections of the adapter block assembly. The cables attached to thefront connectors may be managed using a link arm assembly made up offour cable management link arms, which swing forward and out of the wayfor access to the front of the adapter block assembly. When a technicianis done accessing/loading the front connectors, using the aforementionedpull arm, the tray is pushed back to its central location. The tray, aswell as a torsion spring located within the link arm that is connecteddirectly to one of the end supports of the tray assembly, pull the cablemanagement link arms back into the panel as the tray is pushed back intoplace by the technician.

To access or load the back-side of the adapter block assemblies, atechnician can, from the back of the panel, pull the tray out the otherside, moving the link arms to manage the cables on the back side aswell.

According to one example embodiment, there may be a total of six traysper 1RU panel, each housing an adapter block assembly capable of holding24 LC connections, for a total of 6×24=144 connections. According to oneexample, the trays may be stacked three high on each side (i.e., firstside and second side) of the panel. Each tray may use link arms on boththe front and back sides to manage incoming and outgoing cables. Thelink arms are configured to allow cables to be installed and removedfrom both the tops and the sides of the link arms. The link arms aredesigned such that, regardless of position of the moving tray, thecables contained therewithin do not violate the minimum bend radiusrequirements. The longest link arm that is directly attached to one ofthe end supports of the tray assembly may be designed to hold twofanouts, which are devices that transition fiber from onehigh-fiber-count cable to multiple single-fiber-count cables.

On each tray, a technician may attach a 24-port adapter block assemblyusing a snap fit mounting arrangement on the tray. For managed panels,the adapter block assemblies may include a printed circuit board (PCB)installed thereonto, which connects to each connector installed usingcontacts within the adapter openings and a chip on each connector. ThePCB on the adapter block assembly may connect to the tray using amulti-pin connector on the tray. The connector on the tray may beattached to a flexible circuit formed from a ribbon cable that routes toa central PCB within the chassis. The ribbon cable may be looped withina cavity defined by the pull arm or pull handle of the tray to allow thetray to travel back and forth without disrupting the communicationthrough the ribbon cable between the central PCB and the adapter blockassembly PCB. The central PCB may use indicators in the form of lightemitting diodes (LEDs) on both the front and back of the panel tocommunicate to a technician which tray should be accessed. The centralPCB then may connect to a main PCB (i.e., a main controller), which ishoused within one of the end supports of the tray assembly. Theconnection is made via another ribbon cable that runs along a top coverof the chassis into the end support. The main PCB or controller isaccessible to the technician by removing a front end cap of theapplicable end support. The main controller may use a card-edge-styleconnection at its opposite rear end to connect to the ribbon cable thatruns along the cover, allowing the main controller to be afield-replaceable device. The main controller is configured tocommunicate to a higher-level managed connectivity rack or frame via aconnection (e.g., an RJ connection) on the side of the panel. The maincontroller of the panel may be powered via another connection on theside of the panel.

The above aspects of the telecommunications device will now be describedin further detail below.

Referring specifically now to FIGS. 1-6, the high-density fiberdistribution chassis or panel 10 is shown in various views. In FIG. 1,the chassis 10 is shown in an exploded view with a plurality of slidablefiber optic connection trays or blades 12 mounted thereon. The chassis10 defines a bottom plate 14 with upwardly extending sidewalls 16, a topchassis cover 18, and a pair of mounting brackets 20 that are configuredto be fastened to the sidewalls 16. The mounting brackets 20 are usedfor mounting the chassis 10 to other fixtures such as telecommunicationsracks or frames. The bottom plate 14, including the upwardly extendingsidewalls 16, and the top cover 18 define fastener openings 22 formounting a tray assembly 24 within the chassis 10. The mounting brackets20 of the chassis 10 are also fastened to fastener openings 22 on thesidewalls 16 of the chassis 10.

In the depicted embodiment, the chassis 10 is configured as a standard1RU (rack unit) piece. In other embodiments, the chassis 10 may beconfigured to have different sizes. According to one example embodiment,the chassis 10 may be configured as a 4RU device. Such an example of achassis is shown in FIGS. 23-37 as mounted on a telecommunications rack40, as will be discussed in further detail below.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-6, as noted above, each chassis 10 isconfigured to house tray assemblies 24. In the depicted embodiment, thetray assemblies 24 may be defined by a first tray assembly 24 a that islocated on the right side of the chassis 10 and a second tray assembly24 b that is located on the left side of the chassis 10. Each of thetray assemblies 24 may include a plurality of slidable trays 12 mountedin a stacked arrangement. For example, the first tray assembly 24 a, asshown, may include three first trays 12 a to be mounted in a stackedarrangement and the second tray assembly 24 b may include three secondtrays 12 b to be mounted in a stacked arrangement, wherein the chassis10 can house six total slidable trays 12 in the depicted version.

The first and second tray assemblies 24 a, 24 b are generally similar inconfiguration and for ease of description, only the first tray assembly24 a will be described in detail, with the understanding that thefeatures of the first tray assembly 24 a are fully applicable to thesecond tray assembly 24 b except for the noted differences. In addition,in the drawings, only one representative first tray 12 a and onerepresentative second tray 12 b have been shown for ease ofillustration. Thus, in the present disclosure, only one of the firsttrays 12 a will be shown and described in detail, with the understandingthat the features of that first tray 12 a are fully applicable to otherfirst trays 12 a that might be mounted in a stacked arrangementtherewith or to other second trays 12 b that might be mounted on theleft side of the chassis 10.

Referring specifically now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first and second trayassemblies 24 a, 24 b are shown outside of the chassis 10 of FIGS. 1 and2. In FIG. 3 specifically, the first and second tray assemblies 24 a, 24b are shown in an exploded configuration where they have been separatedfrom each other. As discussed previously and as will be discussed infurther detail below, the two tray assemblies 24, when mounted together,capture a central PCB 28 therebetween. The central PCB 28 may includeindicators in the form of LEDs 30 on both the front 32 and the back 34of the chassis 10 to communicate to a technician which tray 12 should beaccessed. As will be discussed in further detail below, all of the trays12 of both the first tray assembly 24 a and the second tray assembly 24b electrically connect to the central PCB 28. And, the central PCB 28 iselectrically connected to a main PCB or controller 36 of the chassis 10,wherein the main PCB 36 of the chassis 10 is configured to communicateto a higher-level managed connectivity rack or frame 40.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the different parts of the first tray assemblyare illustrated in an exploded configuration. The first tray assemblyincludes the central PCB 28, a mounting plate 38, a mounting block 42, afirst tray 12 a, an end support 44, and the main PCB 36 to be mounted tothe end support 44. As noted above and as will be described in furtherdetail below, a flexible circuit in the form of a ribbon cable 46provides an electrical connection between the central PCB 28 and a PCB48 located on the tray 12 and another ribbon cable 50 provides theconnection between the central PCB 28 and the main PCB or controller 36of the chassis 10. The ribbon cable 50 is configured to run along thetop cover 18 of the chassis 10, and, via the central PCB 28, can connectboth the first and second tray assemblies 24 a, 24 b to the main PCB 36.

The mounting plate 38 of the first tray assembly 24 a, which along witha mounting plate 38 of the second tray assembly 24 b, is configured forcapturing the central PCB 28 and mounting the central PCB 28 and themounting blocks 42 of the tray assemblies 24 to the chassis 10. Themounting plate 38 defines tabs 52 with fastener openings 54 that arealigned with fastener openings 56 of the central PCB 28 for mounting thecentral PCB 28 to the bottom plate 14 and top cover 18 of the chassis10. The mounting plate 38 also includes fastener openings 58 on asidewall thereof for fastening the mounting blocks 42 thereto and to thechassis 10.

As will be discussed in further detail, each tray 12 is configured to beslidably captured between the mounting block 42 and the end support 44of the tray assembly 24. For the first tray assembly 24 a, for example,the end support 44 defines fastener openings 60 for mounting to theright sidewall 16 of the chassis 10, capturing the main PCB 36thereagainst. The end support 44 defines a channel 62 for housing themain PCB 36. As shown in FIG. 2, the main PCB 36 may be slidably loadedinto the channel 62 of the end support 44. The main PCB 36 is accessibleto a technician by removing a front end cap 64 of the end support 44.The main controller 36 may use a card-edge-style connection at itsopposite rear end to connect to the ribbon cable 50 that runs along thechassis top cover 18, allowing the main controller 36 to be afield-replaceable device. A side cap 68 is used at the rear end of theend support 44 to cover a card-edge-style connector 66. It should benoted that in the depicted embodiment of the chassis 10, since both trayassemblies 24 are being connected through the central PCB 28, only theend support 44 of the first tray assembly 24 a defines a channel 62 forsupporting the main controller 36, wherein the end support 44 of thesecond tray assembly 24 b is not shown as housing a main controller orPCB 36. This configuration may be modified depending upon theorientation of the chassis 10 within a given rack 40.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 8-14, each tray 12 of each tray assembly 24defines a main connection portion 70, a center mounting portion 72, aside mounting portion 74, and a cable management portion 76. The centermounting portion 72 of the tray 12 is configured for slidable couplingto the mounting block 42 that is located generally toward the center ofthe chassis 10. The side mounting portion 74 of the tray 12 isconfigured for slidable coupling to an end support 44 of the trayassembly 24 that is located generally close to one of the sides of thechassis 10.

Both the mounting block 42 and the end support 44 include longitudinallyextending channels provided in a stacked arrangement. The channels 78 ofthe mounting block 42 are configured to slidably receive the centermounting portion 72 of each tray 12. The channels 80 of the end support44 are configured to receive the side mounting portion 74 of each tray12.

Referring now to the interaction between the side mounting portions 74of the trays 12 and the channels 80 of the end support 44, the sidemounting portions 74 and the channels 80 of the end support 44 definematching dovetail configurations for providing slidable movement andpreventing lateral separation.

Regarding the interaction between the center mounting portions 72 of thetrays 12 and the channels 78 of the central mounting block 42, thecenter mounting portions 72 may define pull handles or arms 82 at boththe front and rear ends of the center mounting portions 72. Using thepull handles 82, the trays 12 can be slid forward to access the frontconnections within the trays 12 or slid rearward to access the rearconnections within the trays 12.

As shown in detail in FIG. 13, both the top and bottom sides 84, 86 ofthe center mounting portion 72 of a tray 12 define longitudinal tracks88. The tracks 88 receive guides 90 located within the channels 78 ofthe mounting block 42 for slidably guiding the trays 12. The guides 90are located adjacent the front 92 and the rear 94 of the channels 78 ofthe mounting block 42.

Within the channels 78 of the mounting block 42 are also locatedflexible tabs 96 on both the top and bottom walls 98, 100 defining eachchannel 78. The tabs 96 cooperate with depressions 102 located withinthe tracks 88 of the center mounting portion 72 of the tray 12 toprovide temporary stops for the tray 12. In this manner, the trays 12may be stopped at discrete intermittent positions such as at a centerposition within the chassis 10 or when pulled forwardly or rearwardly.

In addition, each channel 78 and the center mounting portion 72 of eachtray 12 also define positive stops to prevent removal of the trays 12when the trays 12 are pulled fully forwardly or fully rearwardly. Thepositive stops are defined first by a stop surface 104 adjacent thefront end 92 of the channel 78 and a stop surface 104 adjacent the rearend 94 of the channel 78. The stop surfaces 104 are defined at ends oftop and bottom longitudinal recesses 106 within the channel 78 as seenin FIG. 15. The other portion of the positive stops between the tray 12and the mounting block 42 are defined on the trays 12. As shown in FIGS.13-16, the center mounting portion 72 of each tray 12 defines a stop tab108 adjacent the front end 110 of the center mounting portion 72 and astop tab 108 adjacent the rear end 112 of the center mounting portion72. The stop tab 108 at the front end 110 extends outwardly from the topside 84 of the center mounting portion 72 and the stop tab 108 at therear end 112 extends outwardly from the bottom side 86 of the centermounting portion 72.

As shown in FIG. 15, the stop surface 104 adjacent the front 92 of thechannel 78 of the mounting block 42 is positioned toward the bottom wall100 of the channel 78 and the stop surface 104 adjacent the rear 94 ofthe channel 78 of the mounting block 42 is positioned toward the topwall 98 of the channel 78. Thus, when a tray 12 is pulled fullyforwardly, the rear stop tab 108 (which is located at the bottom side86) contacts the front stop surface 104 within the channel 78. When atray 12 is pulled fully rearwardly, the front stop tab 108 (which islocated at the top side 84) contacts the rear stop surface 104 withinthe channel 78. As noted above, the top and bottom stop tabs 108 of thecenter mounting portion 72 are normally accommodated by the top andbottom longitudinal recesses 106 within each channel 78 until theyencounter the stop surfaces 104 at the respective ends.

The main connection portion 70 of the tray 12 is located between thecenter mounting portion 72 and the side mounting portion 74 and isconfigured to define connection locations 114 for the tray 12. Bystacking a plurality of the trays 12 on a distribution chassis 10,density of connections for fiber optic transmission can be increased andthe slidability of the trays 12 in either the front direction or therear direction provides for easy access at both the front and the rearof the distribution chassis 10.

As shown in FIGS. 8-9, the depicted version of the main connectionportion 70 of the tray 12 includes a mount 116 for mounting fiber opticadapters 118 which define the fiber optic connection locations 114 inthe present embodiment of the tray 12. Specifically, in the tray 12shown and described in the present application, the fiber opticconnection locations 114 are defined by adapters 118 having an LC typefootprint. In the depicted embodiments, twenty-four LC adapters 118 aremounted to the mount 116 via a snap-fit connection defined on the mount116. In the high density distribution chassis 10 shown in the presentdisclosure, six slidable trays 12 may be mounted on a 1RU of rack space,providing 144 LC connections as noted above.

As noted earlier, other standards of fiber optic adapters 118 (such asSC or MPO adapters) can be mounted to the mount 116. Fiber opticadapters 118 are only one type of fiber optic equipment that providesconnection locations 114 for the tray 12 and the tray 12 can be usedwith other types of fiber optic equipment. For example, equipment suchas fiber optic splitters, couplers, multiplexers/demultiplexers, orother types of equipment wherein cables may be routed away from theconnection locations 114 may be housed on the main connection portion70.

If fiber optic adapters 118 are used, the connection locations 114 maybe defined by adapters 118 individually mounted in the mount 116 or maybe defined by adapter block assemblies 120 that include integrallyformed adapters 118 in block form, as shown in the depicted embodiment.In other embodiments, the connection locations 114 may be in the form ofa cassette that may include fiber optic adapters 118 on one side whereinthe opposite side may have a multi-fiber connector or a cable extendingoutwardly therefrom, with optical fibers normally housed within such acassette.

Examples of devices that may define the connection locations such as theadapter block assemblies 120 or cassettes are illustrated and describedin further detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,423,570; 9,285,552; and 9,379,501,which are all incorporated by reference in their entireties.

As noted previously, the chassis or panels may be available in1-rack-unit (1RU) and 4-rack-unit (4RU) sizes. The 1RU panels may house144 mated LC connector pairs (as shown), 72 SC connector pairs or 48 MPOconnector pairs. The 4RU panels may house four times the number ofconnections as the 1RU units with the same functionality.

Within each panel 10 and within each tray 12, the connection locations114 may be accessible from both the front and the back of the panel 10.For example, as shown, an adapter block assembly 120 may be installed ona sliding tray 12 such that it resides toward the center portion of thepanel 10. Using the pull handles or arms 82 discussed above, the tray 12can be slid forwardly or rearwardly to access the front connections orthe rear connections of the adapter block assembly 120.

Cable management is an important aspect of a high density distributionpanel or frame when managing a high density of cables extending from thefront and rear ends of the adapter block assemblies 120 that may bemounted on the trays 12.

As discussed above, each tray 12 is configured to include a cablemanagement portion 76 for managing cables 122 from the connectionlocations 114 to and away from the chassis 10 both for the cables 122extending from the front ports of the adapters 118 and from the rearports of the adapters 118. The cable management portions 76 of the trays12 are configured such that they accommodate any cable slack during theforward and rearward slidable movements of the trays 12, whilemaintaining minimum bend radius requirements of the cables 122. Also,the cable management portions 76 of the trays 12 are designed to keepthe same length of cabling from the connection locations 114 to theexterior of the chassis 10 so as to prevent any pulling or pinching ofthe cables 122 and to limit the need for excess slack cabling.

The cable management portion 76 of each tray 12 may be defined by afront cable management portion 76 a and a rear cable management portion76 b. It should be noted that the front and rear cable managementportions 76 a, 76 b are similar in configuration and only the frontcable management portion 76 a will be discussed herein for ease ofdescription, with the understanding that all of the inventive featuresof the front cable management portion 76 a of a given tray 12 are fullyapplicable to the rear cable management portion 76 b.

Referring now to FIGS. 13 and 18-22, the front cable management portion76 a is defined by a radius limiter 124 that is located adjacent theside mounting portion 74 of the tray 12 and a link arm assembly 126 madeup of four cable management link arms 128, which are attached betweenthe radius limiter 124 and the front of the end support 44 of the trayassembly 24.

The link arms 128 are configured to swing forwardly and out of the wayfor access to the front of the adapter block assembly 120 when the tray12 is pulled forwardly. When a technician is done accessing and/orloading the front connectors, using the aforementioned pull arm 82, thetray 12 is pushed back to its original closed location.

The link arms 128 are defined by four link arms that are pivotallycoupled with respect to each other so as to define a limited pivotalmovement therebetween. The four link arms include a first link arm 128 athat is directly pivotally coupled to the front of the end support 44 ofthe tray assembly 24 via a hinge assembly 130. The hinge assembly 130defines a hinge pin 132 that is inserted through openings 134 on boththe end support 44 and the first link arm 128 a for the pivotalcoupling. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the hinge assembly 130 alsodefines a torsion spring 136, one end of which is inserted into alongitudinal pocket 138 at the front of the end support 44 and a second(perpendicular) end which is inserted into a pocket 140 provided on thefirst link arm 128 a. The torsion spring 136 is configured to bias thelink arm assembly 126 into its original closed position wherein thetorsion spring 136 pulls the cable management link arms 128 back intothe panel 10 as the tray 12 is pushed back into place by the technician,whether the tray 12 is being pulled forwardly or rearwardly. A similartorsion spring is also provided on the rear cable management portion 76b of the tray 12 assisting the torsion spring 136 of the front cablemanagement portion 76 a in biasing the tray 12 back into a closedposition.

In the depicted embodiment, the cable management portion 76 of the trays12 are configured for top and side loading of the cables thereinto. Asshown in FIGS. 13, 20, and 21, the radius limiter 124 defines agenerally curved cable channel 142 with inwardly extending cablemanagement fingers 144 for retaining cables 122 once therein. In such anexample, the cables 122 can be top loaded into the radius limiter 124 asthey extend from the connection locations 114.

The first link arm 128 a is pivotally connected to the end support 44such that it can move between a transverse position when the tray 12 isclosed to a longitudinal orientation when the tray 12 is fully open asshown in FIG. 22. A contact surface 146 defined on the first link arm128 a prevents further movement of the first link arm 128 a with respectto the end support 44. The remaining three link arms 128 b of the linkarm assembly 126 are configured to have the same shape as each other.Each of the three similar link arms 128 b is coupled back to back fromthe first link arm 128 a to the radius limiter 124 of the tray 12. Thelink arms 128 b include snap-fit coupling features defined, for example,by cylindrical tabs 148 on a first male end 150 and cylindricalreceptacles 152 on an opposite second female end 154 for providing thepivotal movement. Each of the link arms 128 b, as in the first link arm128 a, defines contact surfaces 156 such that they are limited in theirpivotal movement with respect to each other. For example, the link arm128 b that is directly coupled to the first link arm 128 a might definea contact surface 156 to prevent further pivotal movement with respectthereto when the tray 12 is fully open. Each of the link arms 128including the first link arm 128 a is designed such that regardless ofposition of the moving tray 12, the cables 122 contained therewithinwill not violate the minimum bend radius requirements.

According to one example embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, thelink arms 128 may be designed for top and side loading of the cable 122,wherein cable management tabs 158 might be located on the peripheraledges 160. Other configurations are certainly possible for the link arms128.

The first link arm 128 a that is directly attached to one of the endsupports 44 of the tray assembly 24 may be designed to hold structuressuch as fanouts, which are devices that transition fiber from onehigh-fiber-count cable to multiple single-fiber-count cables 122.

Example cable routing configurations have been shown in FIGS. 20-22. Thecables 122 lead from both the front and rear connection locations 114through the radius limiters 124 and through each of the three similarlink arms 128 b and finally through the first link arm 128 a beforebeing directed out of the chassis 10. As noted above, the front link armassembly 126 a and the rear link arm assembly 126 b are configured tomove simultaneously together to manage the cable slack as the trays 12are pulled out from either direction.

Referring now to FIGS. 8, 13, 18, 20, and 21, the cable managementportion 76 of the trays 12 may also include cable retainers 5 thatextend between the center mounting portion 72 and the radius limiter124. The cable retainers 5 are pivotally coupled to the center mountingportion 72 of the tray assembly 24 at a first end 6 via a hinge assembly7 defined by both the center mounting portion 72 and the first end ofthe cable retainer 5. The cable retainer 5 includes a snap-fit tab 8 ata second end 9 thereof that is configured to be inserted into areceptacle 3 defined adjacent the radius limiter 124 for interlockingthe cable retainer 5 at a closed or pivoted-down position with asnap-fit. The cable retainers 5 are configured to hold or retain cablesextending from the connection locations 114 when in a pivoted-downposition. The cable retainers can be pivoted up and out of the way bythe technician to access the connection locations 114.

Referring now to FIGS. 7-12, as noted above, in accordance with someaspects, certain types of adapters 118 that are mounted to the trays 12in the form of adapter block assemblies 120 may be configured to collectphysical layer information from one or more fiber optic connectorsreceived thereat. For example, certain types of adapters 118 of theadapter block assemblies 120 may include a body configured to hold oneor more media reading interfaces that are configured to engage memorycontacts on the fiber optic connectors. One or more media readinginterfaces may be positioned in the adapter body. In certainimplementations, the adapter body may define slots extending between anexterior of the adapter body and an internal passage in which theferrules of the connectors are received.

Certain types of media reading interfaces may include one or morecontact members that are positioned in the slots. A portion of eachcontact member may extend into a respective one of the passages toengage memory contacts on a fiber optic connector. Another portion ofeach contact member may also extend out of the slot to contact a circuitboard that may be positioned on the adapter block assembly 120. Asnoted, portions of the tray 12 and the chassis 10 may define conductivepaths that are configured to connect the media reading interfaces of theadapters 118 with a main controller or PCB 36 of the chassis 10, whichcan further communicate with a controller of the rack 40 that is housingthe chassis 10.

The main controller 36 of the chassis 10 or the controller of the rack40 may include or connect (e.g., over a network) to a processing unitthat is configured to manage physical layer information obtained by themedia reading interfaces.

According to the depicted example embodiment, on each tray 12, once atechnician attaches a 24-port adapter block assembly 120 using snapfeatures on the tray 12, the adapter block assemblies 120 may plug intothe network as discussed above. For such managed panels 10, for example,the printed circuit boards of the adapter block assemblies 120 mayconnect to the tray 12 using multi-pin connectors 162 on the tray 12 asshown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 10. The multi-pin connectors 162 on the tray 12may be attached to a flexible circuit formed by a ribbon cable 46 thatroutes to a central PCB 28 within the panel 10. As shown, the conductivepathway from the multi-pin connectors 162 to the ribbon cable 46 isprovided by a printed circuit board 48 that is located at a centraldivider portion 164 of the tray 12 and also by a portion 45 of theflexible ribbon cable 46 that is positioned horizontally along the rearside 166 of the main connection portion 70 of the tray 12. The printedcircuit board 48 and the horizontal portion 45 of the ribbon cable 46are preferably mounted flush within recesses 168 provided on the centraldivider 164 and the rear side 166 of the main connection portion 70 ofthe tray 12.

A portion 47 of the ribbon cable 46, which is provided in a verticalorientation, may be looped within a cavity 170 defined by the centermounting portion 72 of the tray 12 as shown in FIGS. 10-12. The verticalportion 47 of the ribbon cable 46 is configured to move within thecavity 170 to allow the tray 12 to travel back and forth withoutdisrupting the communication through the ribbon cable 46 between thecentral PCB 28 and tray PCB 48. An end 172 of the ribbon cable 46extends through a slot 174 on the left wall 176 of the center mountingportion 72 of the tray 12 to connect to the central PCB 28. Another slot178 is provided on the right wall 180 of the center mounting portion 72of the tray 12 to allow a portion of the ribbon cable 46 to extend frominside the cavity 170 to the main connection portion 70 of the tray 12,wherein the ribbon cable 46 transitions from a vertical orientation to aflat horizontal orientation by a twist of the cable 46.

The end 172 of the ribbon cable 146, after passing though the slot 174on the left wall of the center mounting portion 72 of the tray, extendsthrough slots 175 on the mounting block 42 and then slots 177 on themounting plate 38, before making a connection with a connector 179 onthe central PCB 28.

As noted above, the central PCB 28 may use indicators such as LEDs 30 onboth the front 32 and back 34 of the panel 10 to communicate to atechnician which tray 12 should be accessed. The central PCB 28 then mayconnect to the main PCB or controller 36 of the chassis 10, which ishoused within the end support 44 of the tray assembly 24. The connectionis made via another ribbon cable 50 that runs along a top cover 18 ofthe panel 10 into the end support 44. The ribbon cable 50 is configuredto extend to the card-edge-style connector 66 that is located toward therear of the channel 62. The main controller 36 is accessible to thetechnician by removing a front end cap 64 of the applicable end support44. The main controller 36 may use a card-edge-style connection with theconnector 66 at its opposite rear end to connect to the ribbon cable 50that runs along the top cover 18, allowing the main controller 36 to bea field-replaceable device. The main controller 36 is configured tocommunicate to a higher-level managed connectivity rack or frame 40 viaa connection on the side of the panel 10. The main controller 36 of thepanel 10 may be powered via another connection on the side of the panel10.

Referring now to FIGS. 23-31, three different examples of a managedconnectivity racks or frames 40 are shown. In the example embodiments ofthe racks 40 shown, the racks 40 are configured for housing chassis 1010that are 4RU in size. The main controller or PCB of the 4RU chassis 1010is designed to communicate with twenty four trays 12 and may be providedat a location different than the location discussed for a 1RU chassis 10(of FIGS. 1-22) which is designed to communicate with six trays 12. Inthe 1RU chassis 10, each chassis 10 is illustrated as having the maincontroller 36 embedded in an end support 44 of the chassis 10. Accordingto one example, for the 4RU chassis 1010, the main controller may bepositioned within a channel located in an end support of the trayassemblies, similar to the 1RU version of the chassis 10, as will bedescribed in further detail with respect to FIGS. 49-61. Other locationsare possible for the chassis main controller.

Still referring to FIGS. 23-31, the managed connectivity racks 40 aredesigned to include a rack controller 41 that communicates with eachchassis 1010 mounted within the rack 40. The three different examples ofthe racks 40 illustrate different methods of routing the cabling 222from the rack controller 41 to the individual chassis 1010 mountedwithin the rack 40.

Except for the way the cabling 222 is routed from the rack controller 41to the individual chassis 1010, all depicted versions of the racks 40share certain similar features. Such features will generally bediscussed with reference to one of the versions, with the understandingthat the features are fully applicable to the other versions.

Referring now to FIGS. 23-25, a first embodiment of a managedconnectivity rack 40 a housing a plurality of 4RU chassis 1010 havingfeatures similar to those of the 1RU chassis 10 of FIG. 1 is shown. Asnoted above, the first embodiment of the rack 40 a shares certainfeatures with the other two versions. In FIG. 24, the rack 40 a is shownwithout any chassis 1010 mounted thereon and in FIG. 25, the rack 40 ais shown with a number of cable management features removed therefrom toillustrate the cable path from the rack controller 41 to the individualchassis 1010 mounted within the rack 40 a.

Still referring to FIGS. 23-25, at the front 230, the rack 40 a includesfront-to rear troughs 232 that communicate with rear horizontal troughs234 at the rear 236 of the rack 40 a. Cable loops 238 are providedadjacent both the right and left sides 240, 242 of the rack 40 a,wherein the cable loops 238 are located within right and left frontvertical cable channels 244, 246 defined on the right and left sides240, 242 of the chassis 40 a, respectively. In the depicted embodiment,the rack 40 a also includes cable slack management spools 249 at theleft side 242 of the rack 40 a, wherein the spools 249 are provided in astacked arrangement along a column at the left side 242 of the rack 40a, at the front 230 thereof.

At the rear 236 of the rack 40 a, the rack 40 a defines vertical cableguides or channels 248, 250, respectively, on both the right and leftsides 240, 242 of the rack 40 a extending along the height of the rack40 a. Please see FIGS. 32 and 34 for the rear view of a similar rack 40d. A cross-frame trough 252 is provided for each chassis or panel 1010and connects the vertical cable guides 248, 250 on the right and leftsides 240, 242. A radius limiter in the form of a trumpet flare 254 isprovided on the left end of the cross-frame trough 252. A second trumpetflare 256 is provided below the first trumpet flare 254 on the left side242 of the rack 40 a. At the right side 240 of the rack 40 a, aplurality of radius limiters 258 (e.g., spools) is located within theright vertical cable guide or channel 248. Still referring to FIGS.23-25, the rack 40 a also includes the rear horizontal troughs 234extending between the right side 240 and the left side 242 of the rack40 a. The front-to-rear troughs 232 provided at each of the right andleft sides 240, 242 of the rack 40 a provide for the routing of cables122 between the front side 230 and the rear side 236 of the rack 40 a.

The cable routing within the rack 40 a for cables 122 extending from thefront connection locations 114 and rear connection locations 114 of thetrays 12 of the individual chassis 1010 are similar in configuration tothose example routings described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,069,150 and9,057,859, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Racks 40 illustrated in FIGS. 26-31 generally follow the sameconstruction and routing configuration as the rack 40 a illustrated inFIGS. 23-25.

As noted above, the three different versions of the racks illustrated inFIGS. 23-31 all include controllers 41 that are configured tocommunicate with the individual chassis 1010 mounted on the racks 40.

In the depicted embodiments of the racks 40, the racks 40 are configuredto hold six 4RU chassis 1010. In such an embodiment, the framecontroller 41 may contain an 8-port Ethernet switch, one of which may beused to route data from each 4RU chassis main controller to anInfrastructure Configuration Manager (ICM). A local microprocessor maybe attached to the Ethernet switch which allows the processor to accessan Address Translation Unit of the Ethernet switch and look up the MediaAccess Control Address of each 4RU chassis main controller connected tothe frame 40 by specific ports (e.g., six different ports allowing forsix chassis 1010 to be managed). This allows mapping of each switch portto the Media Access Control Addresses of the attached chassis maincontroller. Each switch port may relate to a specific location in theframe 40. The Media Access Control Addresses and related Ethernet switchport data can be sent to the Infrastructure Configuration Manager, whichmay use the data to determine which frame each 4RU chassis maincontroller is installed in, and the location of each 4RU main controllerwithin the frame 40. An auxiliary Ethernet port may be provided forlocal access to each 4RU chassis main controller or the rack controller41. A Power over Ethernet powered Wi-Fi access point can optionally beadded to allow mobile devices access to each 4RU chassis maincontroller, or the frame controller 41. Further aspects of the managedconnectivity of the rack 40 and the chassis 10/1010 mounted thereon isdescribed in Examples of devices that may define the connectionlocations such as the adapter block assemblies 118 or cassettes areillustrated and described in further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 9,507,113,which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Regarding the routing of the cabling 222 from the Ethernet ports of thecontroller 41 of the rack 40 to the individual 4RU chassis 1010, in thefirst version of the rack 40 a shown in FIGS. 23-25, the rack 40 adefines a single vertical bracket 260 with openings 262 that allowbreakout points 223 of the cables 222 to extend therethrough. Thevertical bracket 260 is mounted to the right vertical frame member 264and is configured to contain the cabling 222 extending from thecontroller 41 as shown in detail in FIG. 25, wherein the rack 40 a isshown with a number of cable management features removed therefrom toillustrate the cable path. The vertical bracket 260 defines a pluralityof mounting flanges 266 for fastening to the right vertical frame member264 of the rack 40 a.

In the second version of the rack 40 b shown in FIGS. 26-28, the rack 40b defines a plurality of individual brackets 268 having cable managementtabs 269 that are mounted to the right vertical frame member 264 of therack 40 b. The brackets 268 are configured to provide cable breakouts223 at either the top side or the bottom sides of the brackets 268. Thebrackets 268 are positioned depending upon where the main controller foreach 4RU chassis 1010 may be located.

In the third version of the rack 40 c shown in FIGS. 29-31, the rack 40c may include a plurality of clips 270 that are configured to be mountedto cross frame members 272 that extend between the right vertical framemember 264 of the rack 40 c and the left vertical frame member 274.According to one embodiment, the clips 270 may be adhesively attached.The cables 222 that are contained by the clips 270 can breakout at thedesired locations.

In such a version of the rack 40 c, the rack 40 c does not have to bepreviously modified (e.g., requiring mounting holes on the verticalframe members 264/274, etc.) and, thus, the routing of the cabling 222from the controller 41 to the individual chassis 1010 may becharacterized as a retrofit arrangement.

Referring now to FIGS. 32-37, there is shown an embodiment of a rack 40d similar to those of FIGS. 23-31 that includes a bus-bar 280 mountedthereon for grounding an armored cable. The cabling coming into a rack40 from a central office (e.g., an IFC cable) for further distributionmight include armored cabling having grounded shielding surrounding thecable bundle. Each of the cables of the bundle may be grounded using thebus-bar 280 mounted on the rack 40 d.

According to one example mounting arrangement, the bus-bar 280 may behoused in a bus-bar support 282 that is mounted to the bottom 233 of theuppermost rear horizontal trough 234.

The bus-bar support 282 is shown in FIG. 39-45. It should be noted thatthe bus-bar support 282 that is depicted in the application is simplyone example structure that may be used. Other support structures orenclosures may be used. In the depicted example, the bus-bar support 282defines a top cover 284 and a bottom cover 286 that is fastened to thetop cover 284. The top cover 284 may define mounting flanges 288 thatare slidably inserted into receptacles 290 defined at the bottom 233 ofthe uppermost rear horizontal trough 234. The uppermost rear horizontaltrough 234 is shown in isolation, removed from the rack 40 d, in FIG.38. The top cover 284 of the bus-bar support 282 defines projections 292which receive a main plate 294 of the bus-bar 280 and the bottom cover286 captures the bus-bar 280 with respect to the top plate 284.

The bus-bar 280 is shown in isolation in FIGS. 46-48. Even though thebus-bar 280 is described and shown as being mounted to the uppermostrear horizontal trough 234, other locations are also possible for themounting of the bus-bar 280 in the rack 40 d.

According to another aspect of the racks 40 discussed in the presentapplication, the racks 40 may include a light source. The light sourcemay provide visual assistance to a technician in locating a rack 40 inan environment where light may be limited. The light source may beprovided in various forms and may be positioned at various locations onthe rack 40 for illuminating the rack 40 and the connection locations114 thereof.

Referring now to FIGS. 49-61, one of the 4-rack-unit (4RU) panels 1010that have been shown mounted on the racks 40 of FIGS. 23-37 isillustrated in further detail. Except for the differences that will bediscussed in detail, the 4RU versions of the panels 1010 are similar inconfiguration and functionality to the 1RU versions and are designed toslidably receive the same fiber optic connection devices as the 1RUpanels 10. For example, as shown in FIGS. 49-61, the 4RU panels 1010 maybe sized to fit twenty-four trays 12 (i.e., twelve first trays 12 a in astacked arrangement on the right side of the chassis 1010 and twelvesecond trays 12 b in a stacked arrangement on the left side of thechassis 1010). Within those trays 12, whereas the 1RU panels 10 (shownin FIGS. 1-32) may house 144 mated LC connector pairs, 72 SC connectorpairs or 48 MPO connector pairs, the 4RU versions 1010 may house fourtimes the number of connections as the 1RU units with the samefunctionality. As will be discussed in further detail below, the trays12 mounted within the 4RU panels 1010 form parts of tray assemblies 1024similar to those tray assemblies 24 of 1RU panels 10.

As discussed above, the connection locations within the trays 12 withinthe 4RU panels 1010 may be managed similar to the connection locationswithin the 1RU panels 10. As will be discussed in further detail below,for managed 4RU panels, similar to 1RU panels, a connection between acentral PCB 1028 within the panel 1010 and a main PCB or controller 1036of the panel 1010 may be established via ribbon cables that run withinthe panel 1010. Similar to the 1RU versions of the panels 10, in a 4RUpanel 1010, the main controller 1036 may use a card-edge-styleconnection 1066 at its opposite rear end to connect to the ribboncable(s), allowing the main controller 1036 to be a field-replaceabledevice. As shown in FIGS. 23-31, the main controller 1036 of the 4RUpanel 1010, similar to the 1RU version, is configured to communicate toa higher-level managed connectivity rack or frame 40 via a connection1077 (e.g., an RJ connection) on the side of the panel 1010. The maincontroller 1036 of the panel 1010 may be powered via another connection1079 on the side of the panel 1010.

Further aspects of the 4RU panel 1010 will now be described below withreference to FIGS. 49-61.

Referring to FIGS. 49-61, the high-density fiber distribution chassis orpanel 1010 is shown in various views. In FIG. 49, the chassis 1010 isshown in an exploded view with a plurality of slidable fiber opticconnection trays or blades 12 mounted thereon. The chassis 1010 definesa bottom plate 1014 with upwardly extending sidewalls 1016, a topchassis cover 1018, and a pair of mounting brackets 1020 that areconfigured to be fastened to the sidewalls 1016. The mounting brackets1020 are used for mounting the chassis 1010 to other fixtures such astelecommunications racks or frames. The bottom plate 1014, including theupwardly extending sidewalls 1016, and the top cover 1018 definefastener openings 1022 for mounting tray assemblies 1024 within thechassis 1010. The mounting brackets 1020 of the chassis 1010 are alsofastened to the fastener openings 1022 on the sidewalls 1016 of thechassis 1010. A pair of spacer plates 1011 are mounted to the bottomplate 1014 of the chassis 1010. The spacer plates 1011 are positionedunderneath the stacked trays 12. The spacer plates cooperatively definea notch 1013 extending from the front to the back of the chassis 1010for accommodating the central PCB 1028 and mounting plates 1038 that areattached at each side of the central PCB 1028, which extend further downthan the trays 12.

In the depicted embodiment, the chassis 1010 is configured as a standard4RU (4-rack-unit) piece. The chassis 1010 is configured to house fourtimes as many trays 12 as the 1RU chassis 10 described previously.

Still referring to FIGS. 49-61, as noted above, each chassis 1010 isconfigured to house tray assemblies 1024. In the depicted embodiment,similar to the 1RU chassis 10, the tray assemblies 1024 may be definedby a first tray assembly 1024 a that is located on the right side of thechassis 1010 and a second tray assembly 1024 b that is located on theleft side of the chassis 1010. Each of the tray assemblies 1024 mayinclude a plurality of slidable trays 12 mounted in a stackedarrangement. For example, the first tray assembly 1024 a, as shown, mayinclude twelve first trays 12 a to be mounted in a stacked arrangementand the second tray assembly 1024 b may include twelve second trays 12 bto be mounted in a stacked arrangement, wherein the chassis 1010 canhouse twenty-four total slidable trays 12 in the depicted version.

The first and second tray assemblies 1024 a, 1024 b are generallysimilar in configuration and for ease of description, only the firsttray assembly 1024 a will be described in detail, with the understandingthat the features of the first tray assembly 1024 a are fully applicableto the second tray assembly 1024 b except for the noted differences. Inaddition, in a number of the drawings (e.g., FIGS. 53-54), only onerepresentative first tray 12 a has been shown for ease of illustration.Thus, in the present disclosure, only one of the first trays 12 a willbe shown and described in detail, with the understanding that thefeatures of that first tray 12 a are fully applicable to other firsttrays 12 a that might be mounted in a stacked arrangement therewith orto other second trays 12 b that might be mounted on the left side of thechassis 1010.

Referring specifically now to FIGS. 51 and 52, the first and second trayassemblies 1024 a, 1024 b are shown outside of the chassis 1010 of FIGS.49 and 50. In FIG. 51 specifically, the first and second tray assemblies1024 a, 1024 b are shown in an exploded configuration where they havebeen separated from each other. As discussed previously and as will bediscussed in further detail below, the two tray assemblies 1024, whenmounted together, capture a central PCB 1028 therebetween. The centralPCB 1028 may include indicators in the form of LEDs 1030 on both thefront 1032 and the back 1034 of the chassis 1010 to communicate to atechnician which tray 12 should be accessed. Similar to the 1RU panel10, all of the trays 12 of both the first tray assembly 1024 a and thesecond tray assembly 1024 b electrically connect to the central PCB1028. And, the central PCB 1028 is electrically connected to a main PCBor controller 1036 of the chassis 1010, wherein the main PCB 1036 of thechassis 1010 is configured to communicate to a higher-level managedconnectivity rack or frame 40.

Referring now to FIGS. 51-54, the different parts of the first trayassembly 1024 a are illustrated. The first tray assembly 1024 a includesthe central PCB 1028, a mounting plate 1038, four of the mounting blocks42 from the 1RU chassis 10 (only one shown), a first tray 12 a, a firstend support 1044 a, a second end support 1044 b that is stacked on topof the first end support 1044 a, and the main PCB 1036 to be mounted tothe first end support 1044 a. As noted above, similar to the 1RU panel10, a flexible circuit in the form of the ribbon cable 46 provides anelectrical connection between the central PCB 1028 and the PCB 48located on the tray 12. And, a pair of ribbon cables 1050 a and 1050 bprovide a connection between the central PCB 1028 and the main PCB orcontroller 1036 of the chassis 1010. The ribbon cables 1050 a and 1050 bare configured to run underneath the trays 12, along the top of one ofthe spacer plates 1011 of the chassis 1010. Via the central PCB 1028,the ribbon cables 1050 a and 1050 b can connect both the first andsecond tray assemblies 1024 a, 1024 b to the main PCB 1036. The centralPCB 1028 includes a first connection point 1029a for the ribbon cable1050 a and a second connection point 1029b for the ribbon cable 1050 b.

The mounting plate 1038 of the first tray assembly 1024 a, which alongwith a mounting plate 1038 of the second tray assembly 1024 b, isconfigured for capturing the central PCB 1028 and mounting the centralPCB 1028 and the mounting blocks 42 of the tray assemblies 1024 to thechassis 1010. The mounting plate 1038 defines tabs 1052 with fasteneropenings 1054 that are aligned with fastener openings 1056 of thecentral PCB 1028 for mounting the central PCB 1028 to the bottom plate1014 and to the top cover 1018 of the chassis 1010. The mounting plate1038 also includes fastener openings 1058 on a sidewall thereof forfastening the mounting blocks 42 (four in a stacked arrangement on eachmounting plate 1038) thereto and to the chassis 1010.

Each tray 12 is configured to be slidable between the mounting blocks 42and the end supports 1044 a, 1044 b of the tray assembly 1024. For thefirst tray assembly 1024 a, for example, the end supports 1044 a, 1044 bdefine fastener openings 1060 for mounting to the right sidewall 1016 ofthe chassis 1010. The first end support 1044 a defines a channel 1062for housing the main PCB 1036. As shown in FIG. 50, the main PCB 1036may be slidably loaded into the channel 1062 of the first end support1044 a. The main PCB 1036 is accessible to a technician by removing afront end cap 1064 of the first end support 1044 a. The main controller1036 may use a card-edge-style connection at its opposite rear end toconnect to the ribbon cables 1050 a, 1050 b. The card-edge-styleconnection allows the main controller 1036 to be a field-replaceabledevice. A rear end cap 1068 is also positioned at the rear end of thefirst end support 1044 a. As in the 1RU panel 10, since both trayassemblies 1024 are being connected through the central PCB 1028, onlythe first end support 1044 a of the first tray assembly 1024 a defines achannel 1062 for supporting the main controller 1036. In the depictedembodiment, the end supports 1044 a, 1044 b of the second tray assembly1024 b are not shown as housing a main controller or PCB 1036. Thisconfiguration may be modified depending upon the orientation of thechassis 1010 within a given rack 40.

As in the 1RU panel 10, the side mounting portion 74 of the tray 12 isconfigured for slidable coupling to the end supports 1044 a and 1044 bof the tray assembly 1024. The end supports 1044 a, 1044 b includelongitudinally extending channels 1080 provided in a stackedarrangement. The channels 1080 of the end supports 1044 a, 1044 b areconfigured to receive the side mounting portion 74 of each tray 12. Asin the 1RU panel 10, the side mounting portions 74 and the channels 1080of the end supports 1044 a, 1044 b define matching dovetailconfigurations for providing slidable movement and preventing lateralseparation.

The cable management portions of the trays are coupled to the endsupports 1044 a and 1044 b in a similar manner to that shown anddescribed for the 1RU panel 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 56 and 57, the first link arm 128 a is directlypivotally coupled to the front of the end supports 1044 a, 1044 b of thetray assembly 1024 via a hinge assembly 1130. The hinge assembly 1130defines a hinge pin 1132 that is inserted through openings 1134 on boththe end supports 1044 a, 1044 b and the first link arm 128 a for thepivotal coupling. As shown in FIGS. 56 and 57, the hinge assembly 1130also includes the torsion spring 136, one end of which is inserted intoa longitudinal pocket 1138 at the fronts of the end supports 1044 a,1044 b and a second (perpendicular) end which is inserted into thepocket 140 provided on the first link arm 128 a. As in the 1RU chassis10 described above, the torsion spring 136 is configured to bias thelink arm assembly 126 into its original closed position wherein thetorsion spring 136 pulls the cable management link arms 128 back intothe panel 1010 as the tray 12 is pushed back into place by thetechnician, whether the tray 12 is being pulled forwardly or rearwardly.A similar torsion spring is also provided on the rear cable managementportion 76 b of the tray 12 assisting the torsion spring 136 of thefront cable management portion 76 a in biasing the tray 12 back into aclosed position.

Example cable routing configurations have been shown in FIGS. 58-61 forthe 4RU chassis. The cables 122 lead from both the front and rearconnection locations 114 through the radius limiters 124 and througheach of the three similar link arms 128 b and finally through the firstlink arm 128 a before being directed out of the chassis 1010. As notedpreviously, the front link arm assembly 126 a and the rear link armassembly 126 b are configured to move simultaneously together to managethe cable slack as the trays 12 are pulled out from either direction.

As described above with respect to the 1RU chassis 10, portions of thetray 12 and the chassis 1010 may define conductive paths that areconfigured to connect media reading interfaces of adapters 118 mountedwithin the tray 12 with the main controller or PCB 1036 of the chassis1010, which can further communicate with a controller of the rack 40that is housing the chassis 1010.

The main controller 1036 of the chassis 1010 or the controller of therack 40 may include or connect (e.g., over a network) to a processingunit that is configured to manage physical layer information obtained bythe media reading interfaces.

Referring now to FIGS. 53-55, according to the depicted exampleembodiment, on each tray 12, once a technician attaches a 24-portadapter block assembly 120 using snap features on the tray 12, theadapter block assemblies 120 may plug into the network as discussedabove. For such managed panels 1010, for example, the printed circuitboards of the adapter block assemblies 120 may connect to the tray 12using the multi-pin connectors 162 on the tray 12 as shown in FIG. 55.The multi-pin connectors 162 on the tray 12 may be attached to aflexible circuit formed by the ribbon cable 46 that routes to thecentral PCB 1028 within the panel 1010. As shown, the conductive pathwayfrom the multi-pin connectors 162 to the ribbon cable 46 is provided bythe printed circuit board 48 that is located at a central dividerportion 164 of the tray 12 and also by a portion 45 of the flexibleribbon cable 46 that is positioned horizontally along the rear side 166of the main connection portion 70 of the tray 12.

As described above for the 1RU panels 10, a portion 47 of the ribboncable 46, which is provided in a vertical orientation, is looped withinthe cavity 170 defined by the center mounting portion 72 of the tray 12(as shown previously in FIGS. 10-12). The vertical portion 47 of theribbon cable 46 is configured to move within the cavity 170 to allow thetray 12 to travel back and forth without disrupting the communicationthrough the ribbon cable 46 between the central PCB 1028 and the trayPCB 48. An end 172 of the ribbon cable 46 extends through a slot 174 onthe left wall 176 of the center mounting portion 72 of the tray 12 toconnect to the central PCB 1028. Another slot 178 is provided on theright wall 180 of the center mounting portion 72 of the tray 12 to allowa portion of the ribbon cable 46 to extend from inside the cavity 170 tothe main connection portion 70 of the tray 12, wherein the ribbon cable46 transitions from a vertical orientation to a flat horizontalorientation by a twist of the cable 46.

For each tray 12, the end 172 of the ribbon cable 146, after passingthough the slot 174 on the left wall of the center mounting portion 72of the tray, extends through slots 175 on the mounting blocks 42 andthen slots 1177 on the mounting plate 1038, before making a connectionwith a connector 1179 on the central PCB 28.

As noted above, the central PCB 1028 may use indicators such as LEDs1030 on both the front 1032 and back 1034 of the panel 1010 tocommunicate to a technician which tray 12 should be accessed. Thecentral PCB 1028 then may connect to the main PCB or controller 1036 ofthe chassis 1010, which is housed within the first end support 1044 a ofthe tray assembly 1024. The connection is made via ribbon cables 1050 a,1050 b that run to the first end support 1044 a. The ribbon cables 1050a and 1050 b are configured to extend to the card-edge-style connector1066 that is located within the channel 1062 of the first end support1044 a. The main controller 1036 is accessible to a technician byremoving the front end cap 1064 of the first end support 1044 a. Themain controller 1036 may use the card-edge-style connection with theconnector 1066 at its opposite rear end to connect to the ribbon cables1050 a, 1050 b, allowing the main controller 1036 to be afield-replaceable device.

As shown in FIGS. 23-37, the main controller 1036 is configured tocommunicate to a higher-level managed connectivity rack or frame 40 viaa connection (e.g., connection 1077) on the side of the panel 1010. Themain controller 1036 of the panel 1010 may be powered via anotherconnection (e.g., connection 1079) on the side of the panel 1010.

FIGS. 62-80 illustrate another embodiment of a 1RU high-density fiberdistribution chassis configured to support a plurality of slidable fiberoptic connection trays or blades having features that are examples ofinventive aspects in accordance with the principles of the presentdisclosure. As will be described in further detail below, the chassis2010 of FIGS. 62-80 includes features similar to the 1RU chassis ofFIGS. 1-22. The chassis 2010 of FIGS. 62-80 also includes features thatare different than the 1RU chassis of FIGS. 1-22, as will be discussedin further detail. For example, the chassis 2010 is configured to houseslidable trays or blades that are completely physically and electricallyremovable from the chassis and replaceable with other trays or blades.

As in the previous examples of devices shown in FIGS. 1-61, the fiberoptic telecommunications device shown in FIGS. 62-80 is a panel orchassis that is configured to be mounted in a high density distributionrack or frame. The chassis or panel is configured to house a pluralityof slidable trays or blades. The trays are configured to supportmultiple fiber optic connections. According to one embodiment, the panelor the rack housing the panel can be managed devices wherein theconnections can be monitored to verify that the connectors have beeninstalled into the correct connections locations (e.g., adapters) andhave not been disturbed. Even though the panel described herein andshown in FIGS. 62-80 is a 1-rack-unit (1RU) panel, versions that include4-rack-unit (4RU) sizes may be provided.

As in the previous 1RU chassis described above and shown in FIGS. 1-22,within the panel and within each tray or blade, the connection locationsdefined by, for example, an adapter block assembly, which is used toconnect fiber optic connectors, may be accessible from both the frontand the back of the panel. An adapter block assembly may be installedonto a sliding tray and may reside toward the center portion of thepanel. Using a portion of the tray which may define a pull or slidelever, the tray can be slid forward to access the front connections ofthe adapter block assembly. The cables attached to the front connectorsmay be managed using a link arm assembly made up of five cablemanagement link arms, which swing forward and out of the way for accessto the front of the adapter block assembly. When a technician is doneaccessing/loading the front connectors, using the aforementioned pull orslide lever, the tray is pushed back to its central location. The tray,as well as an extension spring located within the link arm assembly areconfigured to pull the cable management link arms back into the panel asthe tray is pushed back into place by the technician.

To access or load the back-side of the adapter block assemblies, atechnician can, from the back of the panel, pull the tray out the otherside, moving the link arms to manage the cables on the back side aswell.

As in the previous example 1RU panel, according to one exampleembodiment, there may be a total of six trays per 1RU panel, eachhousing an adapter block assembly capable of holding 24 LC connections,for a total of 6×24=144 connections. According to one example, the traysmay be stacked three high on each side (i.e., first side and secondside) of the panel. Each tray may use link arms on both the front andback sides to manage incoming and outgoing cables. The link arms areconfigured to allow cables to be installed and removed from both thetops and the sides of the link arms. The link arms are designed suchthat, regardless of position of the moving tray, the cables containedtherewithin do not violate the minimum bend radius requirements. Thelongest link arm that is directly attached to one of the end supports ofthe tray assembly may be designed to hold two fanouts, which are devicesthat transition fiber from one high-fiber-count cable to multiplesingle-fiber-count cables.

On each tray, a technician may attach a 24-port adapter block assemblyusing a snap fit mounting arrangement on the tray. For managed panels,the adapter block assemblies may include a printed circuit board (PCB)installed thereonto, which connects to each connector installed usingcontacts within the adapter openings and a chip on each connector. ThePCB on the adapter block assembly may connect to the tray usingmulti-pin connectors on the tray. The connectors on the tray may beattached to a flexible circuit in the form of a ribbon cable that routesto a central PCB within the chassis. The ribbon cable may be flexiblyrouted within a slide assembly of the tray to allow the tray to travelback and forth without disrupting the communication through the ribboncable between the central PCB and the adapter block assembly PCB. Theslide assembly of each tray may house a micro slide PCB that isconfigured to be electrically connected to the central PCB when thetrays are mounted to the chassis. The micro slide PCB of each removabletray may use indicators in the form of light emitting diodes (LEDs) tocommunicate to a technician which tray should be accessed. The centralPCB then may connect to a main PCB (i.e., a main controller), which ishoused within one of the end supports of the tray assembly of thechassis. The connection is made via another top PCB that runs along atop cover of the chassis into the end support. The main PCB orcontroller may be a removable device and may be accessible to thetechnician by removing a front end cap of the end support. The maincontroller may use a card-edge-style connection at its opposite rear endto connect to a backplane PCB housed within the end support. The top PCBthat runs along the cover connects the central PCB to the backplane PCBand thus to the main controller using card-edge-style connections. Themain controller of the chassis is configured to communicate to ahigher-level managed connectivity rack or frame via a connection (e.g.,an RJ connection) on the side of the panel. The main controller of thepanel may be powered via another connection on the side of the panel.

The above aspects of the telecommunications device will now be describedin further detail below.

Referring specifically now to FIGS. 62-69, the high-density fiberdistribution chassis or panel 2010 is shown in various views. Thechassis 2010 is shown with a plurality of slidable fiber opticconnection trays or blades 2012 mounted thereon. As will be described infurther detail below, the trays 2012 are configured to be completelyremovable, both physically and electrically, from the chassis 2010 andreplaceable with other similar trays.

The chassis 2010 defines a bottom plate 2014 with upwardly extendingsidewalls 2016, a top chassis cover 2018, and a pair of mountingbrackets 2020 that are configured to be fastened to the sidewalls 2016(see FIG. 63). The mounting brackets 2020 are used for mounting thechassis 2010 to other fixtures such as telecommunications racks orframes 40. The bottom plate 2014, including the upwardly extendingsidewalls 2016, and the top cover 2018 define fastener openings 2022 formounting tray assemblies 2024 within the chassis 2010. The mountingbrackets 2020 of the chassis 2010 are also fastened to fastener openings2022 on the sidewalls 2016 of the chassis 2010.

In the depicted embodiment, as discussed above, the chassis 2010 isconfigured as a standard 1RU (rack unit) piece. In other embodiments,the chassis 2010 may be configured to have different sizes. According toone example embodiment, the chassis may be configured as a 4RU device.Such an example of a chassis is shown in FIGS. 23-37 as mounted on atelecommunications rack 40.

Still referring to FIGS. 62-69, as noted above, each chassis 2010 isconfigured to house tray assemblies 2024. In the depicted embodiment,the tray assemblies 2024 may be defined by a first tray assembly 2024 athat is located on the right side of the chassis 2010 and a second trayassembly 2024 b that is located on the left side of the chassis 2010.Each of the tray assemblies 2024 may include a plurality of slidabletrays 2012 mounted in a stacked arrangement. For example, the first trayassembly 2024 a, as shown, may include three first trays 2012 a to bemounted in a stacked arrangement and the second tray assembly 2024 b mayinclude three second trays 2012 b to be mounted in a stackedarrangement, wherein the chassis 2010 can house six total slidable trays2012 in the depicted version.

As shown in FIG. 65, in the depicted embodiment of the chassis 2010, thefirst tray assemblies 2024 a are removable from the front side of thechassis and the second tray assemblies 2024 b are removable from therear side of the chassis. Each tray is slidable both in the forward andthe rearward direction with respect to the chassis 2010.

As shown in FIG. 62, the chassis defines a pair of pivot doors 2003 ateach of the front end 2032 and the rear end 2034 of the chassis 2010.The pivot doors 2003 protect the first and second tray assemblies 2024within the chassis 2010. Both of the pivot doors 2003 at the front end2032 and the at the rear end 2034 share a pivot hinge 2011 and pivotabout the same pivot axis to provide access to the tray assemblies 2024within the chassis 2010. The pivot doors 2003 define latches 2013 at theends opposite from the pivot hinge 2011 for locking the pivot doors 2003at a closed position. The latches 2013 may define flexible portions thatare configured to snap into detents 2015 located at the top chassiscover 2018 and the bottom plate 2014 of the chassis 2010, adjacent theend supports 2044.

FIGS. 81-86 illustrate another example of a pivot door 3003 that can beused with the chassis 2010 of the present application. The pivot door3003 includes a spring latch mechanism 3005 that allows a user to latchand unlatch the door 3003.

Referring to FIGS. 81-86, at a first end 3007, the pivot door 3003defines a pivot pin 3009 for cooperating with the pivot hinge 2011 ofthe chassis 2010 for pivotally opening the door 3003 to provide accessto the tray assemblies 2024 within the chassis 2010. At a second end3011, the pivot door 3003 defines the spring latch mechanism 3005 thatallows the user to latch the door 3003 at a closed position and unlatchthe pivot door 3003 to an open position.

The spring latch mechanism 3005 includes a slide latch 3013 that isconfigured to be captured against the second end 3011 of the door 3003with a cover 3015. The cover 3015 is fastened to the second end 3011 ofthe door 3003 with a fastener 3017. The slide latch 3013 is configuredto have limited sliding movement between the cover 3015 and the door3003 and is spring-biased to an extended position (i.e., a closed or alatched position) as will be discussed below.

The slide latch 3013 defines guide slots 3019 that cooperate with guidetabs 3021 on the door 3003 for allowing the slide latch 3013 to slidebetween the extended position and a depressed position (i.e., an open oran unlatched position). The abutment of the guide tabs 3021 with ends3023 of the guide slots 3019 provide the positive stops in limiting thesliding movement of the slide latch 3013.

Still referring to FIGS. 81-86, the spring 3025 providing the biasingforce on the slide latch 3013 is positioned within a spring pocket 3027defined on the slide latch 3013. The spring 3025 abuts a first end 3029of the spring pocket 3027 at a first end 3031 of the spring 3025 and aspring stop 3033 defined on the door 3003 at a second end 3035 of thespring 3025. In this manner, the spring 3025 is captured between theslide latch 3013 and a structure that is on the door 3003 and is able tobias the slide latch 3013 away from the door 3003.

The slide latch 3013 defines a pair of angled pin tracks 3037 that areconfigured to receive pins 3039 of two opposing locking tabs 3041. Thelocking tabs 3041 are configured to slidably move in a directiongenerally perpendicular to that of the movement of the slide latch 3013.The locking tabs 3041, similar to the slide latch 3013, also includeguide tabs 3045 that slidably fit within guide slots 3047 defined on thecover 3015 for guiding and limiting the movement of the locking tabs3041. The guide tabs 3045 are located on an opposite face of the lockingtabs 3041 from the pins 3039.

The locking tabs 3041 include locking ends 3049 with a tapered face 3051and an opposing flat face 3053. The locking ends 3049 are configured tosnap into the detents 2015 located at the top chassis cover 2018 and thebottom plate 2014 of the chassis 2010, adjacent the end supports 2044.The flat faces 3053 of the locking ends 3049 need to be cleared off thedetents 2015 in order to pivot the door 3003 to an open position.

As shown in FIGS. 85-86, when the slide latch 3013 is pushed inwardlytoward the door 3003 and the spring 3025 is depressed, the locking tabs3041 are pulled toward the slide latch 3013 due to the camming actionbetween the angled pin tracks 3037 and the pins 3039 of the locking tabs3041. When the locking tabs 3041 have cleared the detents 2015, the door3003 can be pivoted open.

The spring 3025 biases the slide latch 3013 outwardly to an extendedposition. Due to the camming action between the angled pin tracks 3037and the pins 3039 of the locking tabs 3041, the locking tabs 3041 arealso pushed outwardly away from the slide latch 3013 due to the spring3025. When a user needs to close the pivot door 3003, the user cansimply push the pivot door 3003 to a closed position and the taperedfaces 3051 of the locking ends 3049 of the locking tabs 3041 allow thelocking tabs 3041 to snap-fit into the detents 2015 on the chassis 2010.The tapered faces 3051 of the locking ends 3049 abut the front edge ofthe top chassis cover 2018 and the front edge of the bottom plate 2014of the chassis 2010 to provide the slight inward movement needed for thelocking tabs 3041 to clear the top chassis cover 2018 and the bottomplate 2014 of the chassis 2010 and snap into the detents 2015.

The pivot door 3003, although illustrated and described for a 1RUchassis, may be modified for use with a 4RU chassis with a similarspring latch mechanism.

Now referring back to FIG. 64, a partially exploded view of the chassis2010 is shown with the top chassis cover 2018 removed completely toillustrate the tray assemblies 2024 mounted therein, the cablemanagement portions for two of the trays 2012 shown exploded off thechassis 2010.

The first and second tray assemblies 2024 a, 2024 b are generallysimilar in configuration and for ease of description, only the firsttray assembly 2024 a will be described in detail, with the understandingthat the features of the first tray assembly 2024 a are fully applicableto the second tray assembly 2024 b except for the noted differences. Inaddition, in FIGS. 70-77, only one representative first tray 2012 a hasbeen shown for ease of illustration and description, with theunderstanding that the features of that first tray 2012 a are fullyapplicable to other first trays 2012 a that might be mounted in astacked arrangement therewith or to other second trays 2012 b that mightbe mounted on the left side of the chassis 2010.

Referring specifically now to FIGS. 65-69, the first and second trayassemblies 2024 a, 2024 b are shown outside of the chassis 2010. Asdiscussed for the previous embodiments of chassis and as will bediscussed in further detail below, the two tray assemblies 2024, whenmounted together, capture a central PCB 2028 therebetween. The centralPCB 2028 may electrically connect to indicators in the form of LEDs 2030on both the front 2032 and the back 2034 of the chassis 2010 tocommunicate to a technician which tray 2012 should be accessed. As willbe discussed in further detail, the LEDs 2030 may be carried by theremovable trays 2012 and may be electrically connected to the centralPCB 2028 when the trays 2012 are slidably mounted on the chassis 2010.

All of the trays 2012 of both the first tray assembly 2024 a and thesecond tray assembly 2024 b are configured to be electrically connectedto the central PCB 2028. And, the central PCB 2028 is configured to beelectrically connected to a main PCB or controller 2036 of the chassis2010, wherein the main PCB 2036 of the chassis 2010 is configured tocommunicate to a higher-level managed connectivity rack or frame 40.

Referring still to FIGS. 65-69, the different parts of the first trayassembly 2024 a are illustrated in an exploded configuration. The firsttray assembly 2024 a is formed from a center divider assembly 2027 thatincludes the central PCB 2028 and a pair of mounting blocks 2042 thatcapture the central PCB 2028 thereinbetween. The first tray assembly2024 a also includes the first tray 2012 a, an end support 2044, themain PCB 2036, and a backplane PCB 2066 that are mounted to the endsupport 2044. As noted above and as will be described in further detailbelow, a flexible circuit in the form of a ribbon cable 2046 provides anelectrical connection between the central PCB 2028 of the chassis 2010and a tray PCB 2048 located on the tray 2012. Another PCB (i.e., the topPCB) 2050 provides the connection between the central PCB 2028 and abackplane PCB 2066. The main PCB or controller 2036 of the chassis 2010is connected to the backplane PCB 2066 via card-edge-style connections.The top PCB 2050 is mounted to a mounting panel 2007, the mounting panel2007 configured to mount the top PCB 2050 to the top chassis cover 2018of the chassis 2010. The top PCB 2050, via the central PCB 2028, canconnect both the first and second tray assemblies 2024 a, 2024 b to themain PCB 2036.

FIG. 65 illustrates the chassis 2010 with the trays 2012 shown explodedoff the chassis 2010. FIG. 66 illustrates the chassis 2010 with the endssupports 2044 and the center divider assembly 2027 of the chassis 2010shown exploded off the chassis 2010.

FIG. 67 illustrates the center divider assembly 2027 of the chassis 2010in an exploded configuration. FIG. 68 illustrates the right end support2044 of the chassis 2010 in an exploded configuration, the right endsupport 2044 configured to house the main controller or PCB 2036 of thechassis 2010. FIG. 69 is a side view of the removable end cap 2064 ofthe right end support 2044 of the chassis 2010.

Still referring to FIGS. 65-69, the right and left mounting blocks 2042are configured for capturing the central PCB 2028 and mounting thecentral PCB 2028 and the center divider assembly 2027 to the chassis2010. The mounting blocks 2042 define fastener openings 2054 that arealigned with fastener openings 2056 of the central PCB 2028 for mountingthe central PCB 2028 to the blocks 2042. The mounting blocks 2042 alsodefine fastener openings 2055 that are configured to align with fasteneropenings of the top chassis cover 2018 for mounting the center dividerassembly 2027 to the chassis 2010.

As will be discussed in further detail, each tray 2012 is configured tobe slidably captured between the mounting block 2042 and the end support2044 of the tray assembly 2024. For the first tray assembly 2024 a, forexample, the end support 2044 defines fastener openings 2060 formounting to the top chassis cover 2018 and the bottom plate 2014. Theright end support 2044 is also configured to capture the main PCB 2036and the backplane PCB 2066 against the right sidewall 2016 of thechassis 2010, wherein the right sidewall 2016 is also fastened to thetop chassis cover 2018. The right end support 2044 defines a channel2062 for housing the main PCB 2036 and the backplane PCB 2066. As shownin FIG. 68 and as will be discussed in further detail, the main PCB 2036may be slidably loaded into the channel 2062 of the right end support2044. The main PCB 2036 is accessible to a technician by removing afront end cap 2064 of the end support 2044. The main controller 2036 mayuse a card-edge-style connection 2017 at its opposite rear end toconnect to the backplane PCB 2066 and eventually to the top PCB 2050that is mounted to the chassis top cover 2018 via the mounting panel2007. As in the previous embodiments discussed, it should be noted thatin the depicted embodiment of the chassis 2010, since both trayassemblies 2024 are being connected through the central PCB 2028, onlyone end support 2044 (i.e., the right end support) of the first trayassembly 2024 a defines a channel 2062 for supporting the maincontroller 2036 and the backplane PCB 2066, wherein the end support 2044of the second tray assembly 2024 b is not shown as housing a main PCB2036 or backplane PCB 2066. This configuration may be modified dependingupon the orientation of the chassis 2010 within a given rack 40.

Still referring to FIG. 67, the right mounting block 2042 defineschannels 2078 for slidably receiving portions of the first tray assembly2024 a and the left mounting block 2042, similarly defines channels 2078for receiving portions of the second tray assembly 2024 b.

The left mounting block 2042 defines three lock levers 2019 at the frontend thereof, one for each tray 2012. The right mounting block 2042defines three lock levers 2019 at the rear end thereof, one for eachtray 2012. As will be discussed in further detail below, the lock levers2019 are configured to cooperate with portions of the trays 2012 inlocking the trays 2012 with respect to the center divider assembly 2027.When the center divider assembly 2027 has been formed with the centralPCB 2028 captured between the mounting blocks 2042, the lock levers 2019of the left mounting block 2042 cooperate with the right trays 2012 a inlocking the trays 2012 a against slidable movement with respect to thechassis 2010. The lock levers 2019 of the right mounting block 2042cooperate with the left trays 2012 b in locking the trays 2012 b againstslidable movement with respect to the chassis 2010. As discussed before,the chassis 2010 is configured such that the right trays 2012 a are onlyremovable from the front end 2032 of the chassis 2010 and the left trays2012 b are only removable from the rear end 2034 of the chassis 2010. Aswill be discussed in further detail below, the lock levers 2019 have tobe pivoted away from the center divider assembly 2027 before the trays2012 can be slidably removed from the chassis 2010.

Referring now to FIGS. 70-78, each tray 2012 of each tray assembly 2024defines a main connection portion 2070, a center mounting portion 2072,a side mounting portion 2074, and a cable management portion 2076. Eachtray 2012 also defines a slide assembly 2021 that is formed from acenter rail 2023 that is configured to slide with respect to a mountingrail 2025. As shown specifically in the exploded view in FIG. 72, themounting rail 2025 defines a dovetail portion 2029 that is slidablycaptured against the center rail 2023 by a top cover 2031 of the centerrail 2023. The mounting rail 2025 also defines a gear rack 2033, thepurpose of which will be discussed in further detail below.

The center mounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012 is also configured forslidable coupling to the center rail 2023 of the slide assembly 2021.The center mounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012 also defines adovetail profile 2035 that is slidably captured against the center rail2023 by the top cover 2031 of the center rail 2023. The center mountingportion 2072 of the tray 2012 also defines a gear rack 2037, the purposeof which will be discussed in further detail below.

The side mounting portion 2074 of the tray 2012 is configured forslidable coupling to an end support 2044 of the tray assembly 2024 thatis located generally close to one of the sides of the chassis 2010.

As noted previously, both the mounting block 2042 and the end support2044 include longitudinally extending channels provided in a stackedarrangement. The channels 2078 of the mounting block 2042 are configuredto slidably receive the mounting rail 2025 of the slide assembly 2021 ofeach tray 2012. The lock levers 2019 of the mounting blocks 2042 areconfigured to fix the mounting rails 2025 to the mounting blocks 2042with a snap fit interlock. In this manner, the mounting rail 2025 of theslide assembly 2021 is stationarily fixed with respect to the mountingblock 2042, thus, to the chassis 2010. The center rail 2023 slides withrespect to the mounting rail 2025. And, the tray 2012 slides withrespect to the center rail 2023, at twice the speed of the center rail2023 relative to the stationary mounting rail 2025 due to a geararrangement, as will be discussed.

The channels 2080 of the end support 2044 are configured to receive theside mounting portion 2074 of each tray 2012 for supporting the slidablemovement of the tray 2012.

Referring now to the interaction between the side mounting portions 2074of the trays 2012 and the channels 2080 of the end support 2044, theside mounting portions 2074 and the channels 2080 of the end support2044 might also define matching dovetail configurations for providingslidable movement and preventing lateral separation. Other types ofsupport structures may also be used for slidable movement such as shelftype of alignment and support structures.

Regarding the interaction between the center mounting portions 2072 ofthe trays 2012 and the center rails 2023 of the slide assemblies 2021,as discussed above, the center mounting portion 2072 of the tray alsodefines a dovetail profile 2035 that is slidably captured against thecenter rail 2023 by the top cover 2031 of the center rail 2023.

Referring now to FIGS. 74 and 74A, the mounting rail 2025 is illustratedin isolation. As discussed above, the mounting rail 2025 is the portionof the slide assembly 2021 that is configured to be fixedly mounted tothe mounting block 2042. The mounting rail 2025 is the portion thatneeds to be removed from the channels 2078 of the mounting block 2042 inremoving the entire tray 2012 and the slide assembly 2021 thereof fromthe chassis 2010. Otherwise, with the mounting rail 2025 fixed in placewith respect to the mounting block 2042, each tray 2012 is still free toslide via the slide assembly 2021, without being removed from thechassis 2010.

Referring to the mounting rail 2025 of one of the first trays 2012 a,the mounting rail 2025 defines a dovetail configuration 2041 on theleftmost wall 2043 of the mounting rail 2025 for slidable insertion intoone of the channels 2078 of the mounting block 2042. As discussed above,the rightmost wall 2045 of the mounting rail 2025 also defines adovetail configuration 2029 for allowing the center rail 2023 to slidewith respect to the mounting rail 2025. The gear rack 2033 also definedon the rightmost wall 2045 of the mounting rail 2025 is configured tointeract with first and second gear wheels 2051 that are positioned onthe center rail 2023.

As the center rail 2023 slides with respect to the mounting rail 2025,the gear teeth 2053 of the gear wheels 2051 cause the gear wheels 2051to spin as they interact with the gear rack 2033 of the mounting rail2025. As the gear wheels 2051 spin, the wheels 2051 also interact withthe gear rack 2037 that is found on the center mounting portion 2072 ofthe tray 2012. Thus, when the center rail 2023 slides with respect tothe stationary mounting rail 2025, the tray 2012 slides with respect tothe center rail 2023, at twice the speed of the center rail 2023relative to the stationary mounting rail 2025 due to the geararrangement.

Still referring to FIGS. 74 and 74A, the mounting rail 2025 defines anLED mount 2055 at a front end thereof. The LED mount 2055 is configuredto house a micro slide PCB 2057 that is provided with two LEDs 2030, oneon each side thereof. The LEDs 2030 can be seen through a pair oftransparent lenses 2059 provided at the front of the LED mount 2055. Themicro slide PCB 2057 is captured within a PCB pocket 2061 of the LEDmount 2055 with a cover 2063. The rear end of the micro slide PCB 2057defines an edge connection portion 2065 and receives a card-edge-styleconnector 2067. The card-edge-style connector 2067 at the back end ofthe micro slide PCB 2057 is configured to electrically connect to one ofthe front extensions 2069 defined on the central PCB 2028. The frontextension 2069 of the central PCB 2028 extends through a slot 2071located at the rear end of the LED mount 2055 to electrically connect tothe micro slide PCB 2057 via the card edge connector 2067.

As shown in FIG. 74A, the micro slide PCB 2057 electrically ties thetray 2012 to the central PCB 2028 via a flexible circuit in the form ofa ribbon cable 2046. The ribbon cable 2046 is configured to be connectedto the micro slide PCB 2057 and enters into the PCB pocket 2061 via aside entrance 2073 of the LED mount 2055.

Referring now to FIGS. 72, 74, and 74A, the flexible circuit 2046extends through the mounting rail 2025. The mounting rail 2025 defines aflex pocket 2075 that runs longitudinally along the mounting rail 2025and houses the flexible circuit 2046. Toward the rear end of themounting rail 2025, the mounting rail 2025 defines a slot 2077 fordirecting the flexible circuit 2046 out of the flex pocket 2075 into thecenter rail 2023 as will be discussed in further detail below.

As noted above, the mounting rail 2025 is the portion of the slideassembly 2021 that is configured to be stationarily fixed with respectto the mounting block 2042 of the center divider assembly 2027.

As discussed previously, the mounting block 2042 to the left of thecentral PCB 2028 defines three lock levers 2019. The lock levers 2019 ofthe mounting blocks 2042 are configured to fix the mounting rails 2025to the mounting blocks 2042 with a snap fit interlock once the mountingrails 2025 have been slidably inserted into the channels 2078 of themounting blocks 2042. As shown in FIG. 65, each LED mount 2055 definesan exterior lock detent 2079. The lock detents 2079 flexibly receive thelock levers 2019 with a snap fit. If an entire tray 2012 needs to beremoved from the chassis 2010, the lock levers 2019 are pivoted awayfrom the detents 2079 until they clear the detents 2079. Once the locklevers 2019 clear the detents 2079, the entire tray 2012 can be slidablyremoved from the chassis 2010.

Referring now back to FIGS. 72-73, as noted above, the center rail 2023receives the mounting rail 2025 on the left side of the center rail 2023and the center mounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012 at the right sideof the center rail 2023. The center rail 2023 slides with respect to themounting rail 2025 and also causes the tray 2012 to slide with respectto the center rail 2023 due to the gear wheels 2051 that are locatedwithin the center rail 2023. The gear wheels 2051, the rightmost wall2045 of the mounting rail 2025 and the dovetail profile 2035 of thecenter mounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012 are captured with respectto the center rail 2023 via the top cover 2031. The top cover 2031 isfastened to the center rail 2023 via fasteners 2081 that are insertedinto fastener mounts 2083. The fastener mounts 2083 are located on adivider wall 2085 that is located within the center rail 2023.

The first and second gear wheels 2051 a, 2051 b are positioned withinwheel pockets 2087 formed within the divider wall 2085 of the centerrail 2023. The gear wheels 2051 rotate freely once captured by the topcover 2031. Each gear wheel 2051 defines a lower portion having the gearteeth 2053 and an upper portion that acts as a ribbon cable guide orpulley 2089.

As shown in FIG. 73, once the flexible circuit in the form of the ribboncable 2046 exits the center mounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012 andenters the center rail 2023, the flexible circuit 2046 runs toward thefront of the center rail 2023 and is positioned between the centermounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012 and the right side of the dividerwall 2085 of the center rail.

Once lead around the first gear wheel 2051 a, the flex circuit 2046 isdirected toward the rear of the center rail 2023 and is positioned atthe left side of the divider wall 2085 (between the divider wall 2085and the rightmost wall 2045 of the mounting rail 2025 (please see FIG.73). As shown in FIG. 72, the pocket 2087 that receives the gear wheel2051 defines a notch 2091 that allows the ribbon cable 2046 to pass fromthe right side of the divider wall 2085 to the left side of the dividerwall 2085.

In this manner, as shown in the top view of FIG. 73, as the tray 2012 ismoved back and forth with respect to the chassis 2010 via the slideassembly 2021, any slack within the ribbon cable 2046 is taken up by thefirst gear wheel 2051 a, which acts as a pulley for the ribbon cable2046.

The portion of the flexible circuit 2046 that resides within the flexpocket 2087 of the mounting rail 2025 remains generally stationary whilethe portions of the flexible circuit 2046 that are located at both sidesof the divider wall 2085 of the center rail 2023 move back and forth asthe tray 2012 moves back and forth.

As noted previously, the mounting rail 2025 of the slide assembly 2021is stationarily fixed with respect to the mounting block 2042, thus, tothe chassis 2010. The center rail 2023 slides with respect to themounting rail 2025. And, the tray 2012 slides with respect to the centerrail 2023, at twice the speed of the center rail 2023 relative to thestationary mounting rail 2025 due to the gear arrangement.

When the tray 2012 is in a fully pulled-out position, a pivotable slidelever 2093 is used to lock and release the tray 2012. As shown in FIGS.72 and 73, the center rail 2025 defines a lever housing 2095 at a frontend thereof. The lever housing 2095 houses the slide lever 2093. Theslide lever 2093 defines a catch portion 2097 and a finger grip portion2099. The slide lever 2093 is pivotally coupled to the lever housing2095 via a pivot hinge 2101 defined by a pivot pin 2103. The slide lever2093 is laterally biased by a spring 2105 that is within the leverhousing 2095. As the lever 2093 is pushed laterally toward the leftusing the finger grip portion 2099, the spring 2105 is loaded and biasesthe lever 2093 back toward the right. The catch portion 2097 isconfigured to interact with an extension latch 2107 defined on thecenter mounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012.

When the tray 2012 is fully pulled out, the extension latch 2107 lockswith the catch portion 2097 of the slide lever 2093. In order to freethe tray 2012 and allow it to slide back, the finger grip portion 2099of the slide lever 2093 is pushed, against the bias of the spring 2105,and the catch portion 2097 is released from the extension latch 2107 ofthe tray 2012.

Once the tray 2012 starts sliding into the chassis 2010, the tray alsomakes temporary stops at discrete positions along its travel path. Forthis purpose, the center rail 2023 defines stop detents 2109 positionedat discrete locations along the center rail 2023. The detents 2109cooperate with a flexible position latch 2111 located on the centermounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012. The position latch 2111 islocated underneath the extension latch 2107 and defines a round profileto facilitate entrance into and removal from the stop detents 2109.

It should be noted that the center rail 2023 is configured with similarfeatures at both the front end and the rear end, such as the slide lever2093, so that trays 2012 can be accessed and slid from both ends of thechassis 2010 in either the forward direction or the rearward direction.

Referring now to FIGS. 119-121, another version of a slide assembly 5021for mounting a tray such as the tray 2012 to a chassis such as chassis2010 is illustrated. The slide assembly 5021 includes features similarto slide assembly 2021 of FIGS. 72-73 but also includes certaindifferences, which will be discussed in further detail.

Still referring to FIGS. 119-121, the slide assembly 5021 includes afurther locking arrangement for locking a tray such as tray 2012 at thecenter position within a chassis.

Similar to slide assembly 2021, slide assembly 5021 defines a mountingrail 5025 that is stationarily fixed with respect to the mounting block2042, thus, to the chassis 2010. A center rail 5023 of the slideassembly slides with respect to the mounting rail 5025. And, a tray suchas the tray 2012 that is mounted using the slide assembly 5021 slideswith respect to the center rail 5023, at twice the speed of the centerrail 5023 relative to the stationary mounting rail 5025 due to the geararrangement.

The slide assembly 5021 includes a pivotable slide lever 5093 similar toslide lever 2093 of slide assembly 2021. When a tray is in a fullypulled-out position, the pivotable slide lever 5093 is used to lock andrelease the tray. As shown in FIGS. 119, 119A, 120, 120A, and 120B, thecenter rail 5023 defines a lever housing 5095 at a front end thereof.The lever housing 5095 houses the slide lever 5093. The slide lever 5093defines a catch portion 5097 and a finger grip portion 5099. The slidelever 5093 is pivotally coupled to the lever housing 5095 via a pivothinge 5101 defined by a pivot pin 5103. The slide lever 5093 islaterally biased by a spring 5105 that is within the lever housing 5095.As the lever 5093 is pushed laterally toward the left using the fingergrip portion 5099, the spring 5105 is loaded and biases the lever 5093back toward the right. The catch portion 5097 is configured to interactwith an extension latch such as the extension latch 2107 defined on thecenter mounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012.

When a tray such as tray 2012 is fully pulled out, the extension latch2107 locks with the catch portion 5097 of the slide lever 5093. In orderto free the tray 2012 and allow it to slide back, the finger gripportion 5099 of the slide lever 5093 is pushed, against the bias of thespring 5105, and the catch portion 5097 is released from the extensionlatch 2107 of the tray 2012.

Once the tray 2012 starts sliding into the chassis 2010, the tray alsomakes temporary stops at discrete positions along its travel path. Forthis purpose, the center rail 5023 defines stop detents 5109 positionedat discrete locations along the center rail 5023. The detents 5109cooperate with a flexible position latch 2111 located on the centermounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012. The position latch 2111 islocated underneath the extension latch 2107 and defines a round profileto facilitate entrance into and removal from the stop detents 5109.

The center rail 5023 is configured with similar features at both thefront end and the rear end, such as the slide lever 5093, so that trayssuch as trays 2012 can be accessed and slid from both ends of thechassis 2010 in either the forward direction or the rearward direction.

As noted above, in addition to the stop detents 5109 positioned atdiscrete locations along the center rail 5023, the slide assembly 5021includes a further locking feature for locking a tray such as tray 2012at the center position within a chassis such as chassis 2010.

As shown in FIGS. 119-121, the slide assembly 5021 includes a pivotlever 5111 that is pivotally connected to the slide lever 5093. Thepivot lever 5111 includes a second catch portion 5113 that is configuredto fit within a detent 5115 located on the mounting rail 5025 of theslide assembly 5021. When the tray 2012 is positioned at the centralposition within the chassis 2010, the second catch portion 5113 ispositioned within the detent 5115. Since the slide lever 5093 islaterally biased by the spring 5105 toward the right, the pivot lever5111 is biased to pivot in a counter-clockwise direction and the secondcatch portion 5113 sits within the detent 5115 under the bias force ofthe spring 5105.

When the tray 2012 needs to be moved from the central position andpulled forwardly, the lever 5093 is pushed laterally toward the leftusing the finger grip portion 5099 and the spring 5105 is compressed.Pushing the lever 5093 laterally leftwardly pivots the lever 5111 in aclockwise direction and frees the second catch portion 5113 from thedetent 5115, allowing the tray to now be slid forwardly.

It should be noted that the center rail 5023 is configured with similarfeatures at both the front end and the rear end such as the pivot lever5111, so that trays 2012 can be accessed and slid from both ends of thechassis 2010 in either the forward direction or the rearward directionas they are released from a central position within the chassis 2010.

As shown in the close-up view in FIG. 120A, the second catch portion5113 and the detent 5115 both include complementary angled faces 5117,5119 such that if the tray 2012 is pulled from the rear end of thechassis 2010, the angled face 5117 of the second catch portion 5113 atthe front of the slide assembly can automatically clear the detent 5115as the center rail 5023 is moved with respect to the mounting rail 5025.

When a tray 2012 is not at the central position, the second catchportions 5113 of the pivot levers 5111 are either not in contact with orsimply ride along the surface of the mounting rail 5025 and are not usedin locking the tray. Please see FIGS. 121, 121A, and 121B. When the tray2012 is at a forward or backward position as shown in FIGS. 121, 121A,and 121B, only the slide lever 5093 is used in locking the tray 2012.

FIGS. 120, 120A, and 120B illustrate a tray such as the tray 2012 lockedin a central position within the chassis 2010, wherein both the frontand rear pivot levers 5111 are being used to lock the tray. When movingthe tray from the central position either forwardly or rearwardly, thefinger grip portion 5099 of the corresponding slide lever 5093 (eitherfront or back) has to be pressed to move the pivot lever 5111 attachedto that slide lever 5093 in freeing the tray.

Thus, the slide assembly 5021 includes features that allow locking ofthe trays, not only in the forward and rearward positions, but also atthe central position, wherein the trays will not be accidentally movedfrom their neutral position without engaging, once again, the fingergrip portions 5099 of the slide levers 5093.

Referring now back to FIG. 75, the main connection portion 2070 of thetray 2012 is located between the center mounting portion 2072 and theside mounting portion 2074 and is configured to define connectionlocations for the tray 2012. By stacking a plurality of the trays 2012on a distribution chassis 2010, density of connections for fiber optictransmission can be increased and the slidability of the trays 2012 ineither the front direction or the rear direction provides for easyaccess at both the front or the rear of the distribution chassis 2010.

As shown in FIG. 75, the depicted version of the main connection portion2070 of the tray 2012 includes a mount 2116 for mounting fiber opticadapters which define the fiber optic connection locations in thepresent embodiment of the tray 2012. Specifically, in the tray 2012shown and described in the present application, the fiber opticconnection locations may be defined by adapters having an LC typefootprint. In the depicted embodiments, twenty-four LC adapters may bemounted to the mount 2116 via a snap-fit connection defined on the mount2116. In the high density distribution chassis 2010 shown in the presentdisclosure, six slidable trays 2012 may be mounted on a 1RU of rackspace, providing 144 LC connections as noted above.

As noted earlier, other standards of fiber optic adapters (such as SC orMPO adapters) can be mounted to the mount 2116. Fiber optic adapters areonly one type of fiber optic equipment that provides connectionlocations for the tray 2012 and the tray 2012 can be used with othertypes of fiber optic equipment. For example, equipment such as fiberoptic splitters, couplers, multiplexers/demultiplexers, or other typesof equipment wherein cables may be routed away from the connectionlocations may be housed on the main connection portion 2070.

If fiber optic adapters are used, the connection locations may bedefined by adapters individually mounted in the mount 2116 or may bedefined by adapter block assemblies that include integrally formedadapters in block form, as shown in the previously depicted embodiments.In other embodiments, the connection locations may be in the form of acassette that may include fiber optic adapters on one side wherein theopposite side may have a multi-fiber connector or a cable extendingoutwardly therefrom, with optical fibers normally housed within such acassette.

Examples of devices that may define the connection locations such as theadapter block assemblies or cassettes are illustrated and described infurther detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,423,570; 9,285,552; and 9,379,501,which have been incorporated by reference in their entireties.

As noted previously, the chassis or panels 2010 may be available in1-rack-unit (1RU) and 4-rack-unit (4RU) sizes. The 1RU panels may house144 mated LC connector pairs, 72 SC connector pairs or 48 MPO connectorpairs. The 4RU panels may house four times the number of connections asthe 1RU units with the same functionality.

Within each panel 2010 and within each tray 2012, the connectionlocations may be accessible from both the front 2032 and the back 2034of the panel 2010. An adapter block assembly may be installed on asliding tray 2012 such that it resides toward the center portion of thepanel 2010. The trays 2012 can be slid forwardly or rearwardly to accessthe front connections or the rear connections of an adapter blockassembly.

Cable management is an important aspect of a high density distributionpanel or frame when managing a high density of cables extending from thefront and rear ends of the adapter block assemblies that may be mountedon the trays 2012.

As discussed above, each tray 2012 is configured to include a cablemanagement portion 2076 for managing cables from the connectionlocations to and away from the chassis 2010 both for the cablesextending from the front ports of the adapters and from the rear portsof the adapters. The cable management portions 2076 of the trays 2012are configured such that they accommodate any cable slack during theforward and rearward slidable movements of the trays 2012, whilemaintaining minimum bend radius requirements of the cables. Also, thecable management portions 2076 of the trays 2012 are designed to keepthe same length of cabling from the connection locations to the exteriorof the chassis 2010 so as to prevent any pulling or pinching of thecables and to limit the need for excess slack cabling.

The cable management portion 2076 of each tray 2012 may be defined by afront cable management portion 2076 a and a rear cable managementportion 2076 b. It should be noted that the front and rear cablemanagement portions 2076 a, 2076 b are similar in configuration and onlythe front cable management portion 2076 a will be discussed herein forease of description, with the understanding that all of the inventivefeatures of the front cable management portion 2076 a of a given tray2012 are fully applicable to the rear cable management portion 2076 b.

Referring now to FIGS. 71 and 76-78, the front cable management portion2076 a is defined by a radius limiter 2124 that is located adjacent theside mounting portion 2074 of the tray 2012 and a link arm assembly 2126made up of five cable management link arms 2128, which are attachedbetween the radius limiter 2124 and the front of the end support 2044 ofthe tray assembly 2024. The side mounting portion 2074 of the tray 2012also includes removable cable management fingers 2144 that are snap fitover the radius limiters 2124 to manage the cables therearound.

In the depicted embodiment, the cable management portion 2076 of thetrays 2012 are configured for top and side loading of the cablesthereinto. As shown in FIGS. 71 and 76-78, the radius limiter 2124defines a generally curved cable channel 2142 with the removably-mountedinwardly extending cable management fingers 2144 for retaining cablesonce therein. In such an example, the cables can be top loaded into theradius limiter 2124 as they extend from the connection locations.

The link arms 2128 are configured to swing forwardly and out of the wayfor access to the front of the adapter block assembly 2120 when the tray2012 is pulled forwardly. When a technician is done accessing and/orloading the front connectors, the tray 2012 is pushed back to itsoriginal closed location.

The link arms 2128 are defined by five link arms that are pivotallycoupled with respect to each other so as to define a limited pivotalmovement therebetween. All of the link arms 128 include snap-fitcoupling features defined, for example, by cylindrical tabs 2148 on afirst male end 2150 and cylindrical receptacles 2152 on an oppositesecond female end 2154 for providing the pivotal movement.

The five link arms include a first link arm 2128 a that is directlypivotally coupled to the front of the end support 2044 of the trayassembly 2024. The first link arm 2128 a is pivotally connected to theend support 2044 such that it can move between a transverse positionwhen the tray 2012 is closed to a longitudinal orientation when the tray2012 is fully open, similar to the view shown in FIG. 22. A contactsurface 2146 defined on the first link arm 2128 a prevents furthermovement of the first link arm 2128 a with respect to the end support2044. The next link arm 2128 b of the link arm assembly 2126 isconfigured to house an extension spring 2113 that is configured to biasthe link arm assembly 2126 and thus the tray 2012 to a closed position,as will be discussed in further detail below.

The next two link arms 2128 c are configured to have the same shape aseach other. Each of the similar link arms 2128 c are coupled back toback from the second link arm 2128 b toward a fifth link arm 2128 d thatis connected to the radius limiter 2124 of each tray 2012. Each of thelink arms 2128, as in the first link arm 2128 a, defines contactsurfaces 2156 such that they are limited in their pivotal movement withrespect to each other. For example, the link arm 2128 b that is directlycoupled to the first link arm 2128 a might define a contact surface 2156to prevent further pivotal movement with respect thereto when the tray2012 is fully open. Each of the link arms 2128, including the first linkarm 2128 a, is designed such that regardless of position of the movingtray 2012, the cables contained therewithin will not violate the minimumbend radius requirements.

Referring now specifically to FIGS. 76-78, exploded views of a rightlink arm assembly 2126 and a left link assembly 2126 are shown,illustrating the extension springs 2113 that are configured to bias thelink arm assemblies 2126 and thus the trays 2012 to a closed position.In the link arm assembly 2126, the link arm 2128 b is configured tosupport a slidable spring mount 2115. A spring mount cover 2117 capturesthe slidable spring mount 2115 against the link arm 2128 b and snapsonto the link arm 2128 b with snap-fit structures 2119. The spring mountcover 2117 defines a track 2121 along which the slidable spring mount2115 can slide. The extension spring 2113 is mounted between a mount pin2123 defined on the slidable spring mount 2115 and a mount pin 2125defined on the spring mount cover 2117 (please refer to FIG. 78). As theslidable spring mount 2115 slides away from the pin 2125 of the springmount cover 2117, the extension spring 2113 is extended under a load.When at an extended position, the spring 2113 biases the slidable springmount 2115 toward its initial position. The slidable spring mount 2115is linked to one of the link arms 2128 c with a spring mount link 2129.The spring mount link 2129 defines male snap-fit structures in the formof pins 2131 that are received into female snap-fit structures in theform of receptacles 2133 that are provided both on the slidable springmount 2115 and the link arm 2128 c.

In this manner, when the link arm 2128 b and the link arm 2128 c pivotrelative to each other, the slidable spring mount 2115 is slidably movedvia the spring mount link 2129. As the slidable spring mount 2115 ismoved with respect to the spring mount cover 2117 along its track 2121,the spring 2113 extends and is loaded with a biasing force. Thus, whenthe link arms 2128 b and 2128 c are pivoted to an angle that is largerthan 90 degrees, the spring 2113 biases the link arms 2128 b and 2128 cto a generally 90-degree, right angle position and starts to pull theentire link arm assembly 2126 back into the tray 2012. The initial pullprovided by the extension spring 2113 facilitates moving the link armassembly 2126 and the tray 2012 back into the chassis 2010. Althoughonly one of the link arms 2128 b is used with the extension spring 2113,the two link arms 2128 b are manufactured with the same features,including receptacles 2133 for receiving an end of the spring mount link2129, for manufacturing efficiency purposes. Also, although only one ofthe link arm assemblies 2126 has been described herein with respect tohaving an extension spring 2113, it should be noted that an extensionspring 2113 is used on all four corners of the chassis 2010 tofacilitate closing of the trays.

Referring now to FIGS. 87-95, another feature that facilitates theclosing and opening of the link arm assemblies is illustrated. Thisfeature, as illustrated in FIGS. 87-95, includes a compression springassembly 4115 that is configured to bias a first link arm away from theadjacent link arm attached thereto. It should be noted that thecompression spring assembly 4115 is shown with an alternative embodimentof a link assembly 4126 that has features similar to the link assemblies2126 discussed above. The link assembly 4126, which will be discussed infurther detail below, includes certain additional features to that ofthe link assembly 2126.

Still referring to FIGS. 87-95, the compression spring assembly 4115 isconfigured bias the first link arm 4128 a away from the link arm 4128 bso as to provide a generally 90-degree angle between the two arms 4128a, 4128 b. The biasing provided by the compression spring assembly 4115facilitates closing and opening of the link arm assembly 4126. Duringopening, the link arm 4128 b applies a contact force on the springassembly 4115, which in turn applies a force on the first link arm 4128a to spread the two link arms apart to generally a 90-degree position tohelp establish a smooth opening motion for the arms 4128 a, 4128 b.Similarly, during closing, the link arm 4128 a applies a contact forceon link arm 4128 b through the compression spring assembly 4115 andforces the link arm 4128 b away from link arm 4128 a to start moving itin the closing direction.

As shown in the exploded view provided by FIG. 89, the compressionspring assembly 4115 includes a slider 4117 that is mounted within aspring housing 4119. The slider 4117 is biased away from the springhousing 4119 via a compression spring 4113 that is captured between theslider 4117 and the spring housing 4119. The slider 4117 defines a pairof tabs 4121 that slide within opposing tracks 4123 provided in thespring housing 4119. The slider 4117 is limited in its movement awayfrom the spring housing 4119 due to stops 4125 formed at the ends of thetracks 4123, which are contacted by the tabs 4121 of the slider 4117.The slider 4117 and the spring housing 4119 include further guiding orkeying features 4131, 4133 for slidably guiding the slider 4117 withinthe spring housing 4119. The spring housing is shown in isolation inFIGS. 90-92 and the slider is shown in isolation in FIGS. 93-95.

The spring housing 4119 includes snap-fit features 4127 for latching thespring housing 4119 to the first link arm 4128 a as shown in FIGS.87-92. The features provided on the first link arm 4128 a, such assnap-fit tabs 4129, are some of the differences provided on thealternative version of the link assembly 4126 as compared to the linkassembly 2126 discussed earlier. Certain other differences for theversion of the link assembly 4126 will be discussed in further detailbelow.

Referring now back to FIGS. 76-78, according to one example embodiment,as shown in FIGS. 76-78, all of the link arms 2128 (and link arms 4128)may be designed for top and side loading of the cable, wherein cablemanagement tabs 2158 might be located on the peripheral edges 2160.

The first link arm 2128 a that is directly attached to one of the endsupports 2044 of the tray assembly 2024 may be designed to holdstructures such as fanouts, which are devices that transition fiber fromone high-fiber-count cable to multiple single-fiber-count cables.

The version of the link arm assembly 4126 that has features similar tolink arm assembly 2126, as shown in FIGS. 96-118, is illustrated withsuch features designed to hold equipment such as fanouts. The featuresfor holding equipment such as fanouts are some of the other differencesprovided on the alternative version of the link assembly 4126 ascompared to the link assembly 2126 discussed above.

Still referring to FIGS. 96-118, in the version of the link assembly4126, the first link arm 4128 a includes features for holding differentsized fanouts. In the depicted embodiment, the first link arm 4128 aincludes features for holding two different sized fanouts.

In FIGS. 96-100, the first link arm 4128 a is shown with a pair of firstfanouts 4141 (e.g., 2 mm fanouts). The link arm 4128 a may be providedwith bumps 4143 on the top and bottom walls 4145, 4147 of the link arm4128 a for accepting the first fanouts 4141 with a snap-fit interlock.The first fanouts 4141 define cavities or slots 4149 for receiving thebumps 4143 located on the top and bottom walls 4145, 4147 of the firstlink arm 4128 a. As shown in FIGS. 96 and 97, when the two fanouts 4141are mounted, one is mounted at an angle to provide a space 4151 forcables 4153 that are fanned out from the rear fanout 4141. The cables4153 fanned out from the rear fanout 4141 are able to pass by the frontfanout 4141 and are retained by cable management features 4160 definedby the periphery of the link arm 4128 a.

Referring now to FIGS. 101-104, the first link arm 4128 a is shown witha pair of second fanouts 4161. The second fanouts 4161 depicted are 900micron fanouts and are sized smaller than the 2mm first fanouts 4141discussed above. In mounting the second fanouts 4161, the first link arm4128 a utilizes a fanout holder 4155 that is configured to receive thesecond fanout 4161 with a snap-fit interlock and also latch to the firstlink arm 4128 a.

The holder 4155 and the second fanout 4161 are shown in an explodedconfiguration in FIG. 105. In FIGS. 106-111, the holder 4155 and thesecond fanout 4161 are shown in a coupled arrangement. The holder 4155is shown in isolation in FIGS. 112-118.

As noted, the holder 4155 includes flexible cantilever arms 4157 both atthe top and bottom sides of the holder 4155. The cantilever arms 4157include latching tabs 4159 that are configured to snap into detents 4162provided on the top and bottom walls 4145, 4147 of the first link arm4128 a. The holder 4155 also includes flexible holding tabs 4164 formounting the second fanout 4161 to the holder 4155.

Thus, with the use of a holder 4155, the link arm 4128 a is providedwith features for accommodating two different types and sizes offanouts.

Referring now back to FIGS. 76-78, in an example cable routingconfiguration, cables may lead from both the front and rear connectionlocations of a tray 2012 through the radius limiters 2124 and througheach of the link arms 2128 d, 2128 c, 2128 b in that order and finallythrough the first link arm 2128 a before being directed out of thechassis 2010. As noted above, the front link arm assembly 2126 a and therear link arm assembly 2126 b are configured to move simultaneouslytogether to manage the cable slack as the trays 2012 are pulled out fromeither direction.

Referring now to FIGS. 70, 71, and 71A, the cable management portion2076 of the trays 2012 may also include snap-on cable retainers 2005located at the main connection portion of each tray 2012 that extendtoward the front and the back of the trays. The cable retainers 2005 mayinclude snap-fit features for coupling to a central divider portion 2164of the trays 2012. The cable retainers 2005 are configured to hold orretain cables extending from the connection locations toward the linkarm assemblies 2126.

Referring for example to FIGS. 75, 79, and 80, as discussed for previousembodiments, in accordance with some aspects, certain types of adaptersthat are mounted to the trays 2012 in the form of adapter blockassemblies may be configured to collect physical layer information fromone or more fiber optic connectors received thereat. For example,certain types of adapters of the adapter block assemblies may include abody configured to hold one or more media reading interfaces that areconfigured to engage memory contacts on the fiber optic connectors. Oneor more media reading interfaces may be positioned in the adapter body.In certain implementations, the adapter body may define slots extendingbetween an exterior of the adapter body and an internal passage in whichthe ferrules of the connectors are received.

Certain types of media reading interfaces may include one or morecontact members that are positioned in the slots. A portion of eachcontact member may extend into a respective one of the passages toengage memory contacts on a fiber optic connector. Another portion ofeach contact member may also extend out of the slot to contact a circuitboard that may be positioned on the adapter block assembly. As noted,portions of the tray 2012 and the chassis 2010 may define conductivepaths that are configured to connect the media reading interfaces of theadapters with a main controller or PCB 2036 of the chassis 2010, whichcan further communicate with a controller of the rack 40 that is housingthe chassis 2010.

The main controller 2036 of the chassis 2010 or the controller of therack 40 may include or connect (e.g., over a network) to a processingunit that is configured to manage physical layer information obtained bythe media reading interfaces.

According to the depicted example embodiment, on each tray 2012, once atechnician attaches an adapter block assembly using snap features on thetray 2012, the adapter block assemblies may plug into the network asdiscussed above. For such managed panels 2010, for example, the printedcircuit boards of the adapter block assemblies may connect to the tray2012 using multi-pin connectors 2162 on the tray 2012 as shown in FIGS.75 and 79. The multi-pin connectors 2162 on the tray 12 may be attachedto the flexible circuit formed by the ribbon cable 2046 that routes tothe central PCB 2028 within the panel 2010. As shown, the conductivepathway from the multi-pin connectors 2162 to the ribbon cable 2046 isprovided by a printed circuit board 2048 that is located at the centraldivider portion 2164 of the tray 2012 and also by a portion 2045 of theflexible ribbon cable 2046 that is positioned horizontally along therear side 2166 of the main connection portion 2070 of the tray 2012. Theprinted circuit board 2048 and the horizontal portion 2045 of the ribboncable 2046 are preferably mounted flush within recesses 2168 provided onthe central divider 2164 and the rear side 2166 of the main connectionportion 2070 of the tray 2012.

A tray PCB cover 2001 may be snapped on to the tray to protect theprinted circuit board 2048 and the horizontal portion 2045 of the ribboncable 2046, as shown in FIGS. 71 and 71A.

The portion 2045 of the flexible circuit or ribbon cable that ispositioned horizontally along the rear side 2166 is provided with atwist to position it vertically as it passes from the center mountingportion 2072 of the tray 2012 to the slide assembly 2021. The verticalportion 2047 of the ribbon cable passes through a slot 2135 locatedadjacent the rear end of the center mounting portion 2072 of the tray2012 to the opposite side of the center mounting portion 2072 of thetray 2012. As discussed previously, the portion 2047 of the ribbon cable2046, which is provided in a vertical orientation, may then be loopedwithin the slide assembly 2021 of the tray 2012 as shown in FIGS. 72,73, and 79. The vertical portion 2047 of the ribbon cable 2046 isconfigured to move within the slide assembly 2021 to allow the tray 2012to travel back and forth without disrupting the communication throughthe ribbon cable 2046 between the central PCB 2028 and tray PCB 2048.

As shown in FIG. 73, once the ribbon cable 2046 exits the centermounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012 and enters the center rail 2023,the ribbon cable 2046 runs toward the front of the center rail 2023 andis positioned between the center mounting portion 2072 of the tray 2012and the right side of the divider wall 2085 of the center rail 2023.Once lead around the first gear wheel 2051 a, the ribbon cable 2046 isdirected toward the rear of the center rail 2023 and is positioned atthe left side of the divider wall 2085 (between the divider wall 2085and the rightmost wall 2045 of the mounting rail 2025 (please see FIG.73). As the tray 2012 is moved back and forth with respect to thechassis 2010 via the slide assembly 2021, any slack within the ribboncable 2046 is taken up by the first gear wheel 2051 a, which acts as apulley for the ribbon cable 2046.

The portion of the ribbon cable 2046 that resides within the flex pocket2075 of the mounting rail 2025 remains generally stationary while theportions of the ribbon cable 2046 that are located at both sides of thedivider wall 2085 of the center rail 2023 move back and forth as thetray 2012 moves back and forth. As discussed previously, an end 2172 ofthe ribbon cable 2046 that is within the flex pocket 2075 connects tothe micro slide PCB 2057 housed within the LED mount 2055 of themounting rail 2025 of the slide assembly 2021. When a tray 2012 isslidably mounted to the mounting block 2042 and is locked in via thelock lever 2019, the tray 2012 establishes electrical communication withthe central PCB 2028 via card-edge-style connections between the microslide PCB 2057 and the front extensions 2069 of the central PCB 2028.

As noted above, the micro slide PCB's 2057 of the slide assemblies 2021may use indicators such as LEDs 2030 on both the front 2032 and back2034 of the panel 2010 to communicate to a technician which tray 2012should be accessed. The central PCB 2028 then may connect to the mainPCB or controller 2036 of the chassis 2010, which is housed within theend support 2044 of the tray assembly 2024. The connection is made viathe top PCB 2050 that runs along the top cover 2018 of the panel 2010into the end support 2044. The top PCB 2050 is configured to extend tothe backplane PCB 2066 located toward the rear of the channel 2062 via acard-edge-style connection. The main controller 2036 is accessible tothe technician by removing a removable front end cap 2064 of theapplicable end support 2044. The main controller 2036 may also use acard-edge-style connection at its opposite rear end to connect to thebackplane PCB 2066, allowing the main controller 2036 to be afield-replaceable device. The main controller 2036 is configured tocommunicate to a higher-level managed connectivity rack or frame 40 viaa connection on the side of the panel 2010. The main controller 2036 ofthe panel 2010 may be powered via another connection on the side of thepanel 2010.

The right end support 2044 is shown in an exploded configuration in FIG.68 to illustrate the removability feature of the end cap 2064. The endcap 2064 includes an end cap lever 2137 that needs to be pulled towardthe front of the chassis 2010 when removing the end cap 2064. The lever2137 slides within an aperture 2139 defined by an end cap cover 2241that is used to capture the lever 2137 against the end cap 2064. Thelever 2137 defines a pair of angled pin tracks 2141 that are configuredto receive the pins 2143 of two opposing locking tabs 2145. The lockingtabs 2145 include tapered locking ends 2147 that are configured to snapinto upper and lower notches 2149 defined on extensions 2151 provided onthe end support 2044. The tapered ends 2147 need to be cleared off thenotches 2149 to pull the end cap 2064 forwardly and remove it from theend support 2044. As shown in FIG. 69, when the lever 2137 is pulledtoward the front 2032 of the chassis 2010, the locking tabs 2145 arepulled toward the lever 2137. The tapered ends 2147 that are snappedinto the notches 2149 are pulled out of the notches 2149 due to theinteraction of the pins 2143 and the tracks 2141 and the end cap 2064can be removed from the end support 2044. A spring 2153 biases the lever2137 rearwardly, to keep the locking tabs 2145 in a locking position.When the lever 2137 is pulled forwardly, the lever 2137 is pulledagainst the bias of the spring 2153.

Once the main controller 2036 has been inserted into the end support2044, the end cap 2064 can be slidably re-inserted onto the end support2044, with the extensions 2151 of the end support 2044 slidably fittinginto guides 2155 defined on the end cap 2064. The tapered ends 2147 ofthe locking tabs 2145 contact the extensions 2151 and eventually clearthe extensions 2151 under the bias of the spring 2153 until they snapinto the notches 2149 defined on the extensions 2151.

It should be noted that in the depicted embodiment, only the front endcap 2064 of the right end support 2044 has been provided with featuresto make it removable. A similar end cap cover 2141 may be used on allfour corners of the chassis 2010 for efficiency in manufacturing.

Although in the foregoing description, terms such as “top,” “bottom,”“front,” “back,” “right,” “left,” “upper,” and “lower” were used forease of description and illustration, no restriction is intended by suchuse of the terms. The telecommunications devices described herein can beused in any orientation, depending upon the desired application.

Having described the preferred aspects and embodiments of the presentinvention, modifications and equivalents of the disclosed concepts mayreadily occur to one skilled in the art. However, it is intended thatsuch modifications and equivalents be included within the scope of theclaims which are appended hereto.

1. A fiber optic telecommunications device comprising: atelecommunications chassis for mounting on a telecommunications frame;the chassis including: a plurality of fiber optic trays slidably mountedon the chassis, the fiber optic trays arranged in a vertically stackedarrangement, each fiber optic tray slidable between a closed storageposition and an open access position, each fiber optic tray including:fiber optic connection locations for connecting cables to be routedthrough the telecommunications frame; and a cable manager coupled at afirst end to the fiber optic tray and coupled at a second end to thetelecommunications chassis, the cable manager configured for routingcables to and from the fiber optic connection locations, the cablemanager defining a plurality of link arms that are pivotally connectedto each other such that the cable manager retracts and extends with acorresponding movement of the tray as the link arms pivot with respectto each other, wherein the link arms are configured to pivot relative toeach other to prevent fiber optic cables managed therein from being bentin an arc having a radius of curvature that is less than a predeterminedvalue during the movement of the tray, each link arm defining a topwall, a bottom wall, and two oppositely positioned sidewalls, whereineach link arm defines an open portion along at least one of thesidewalls and an open portion along the top wall for receiving fiberoptic cables therein, the open portions along the top wall and the atleast one of the sidewalls communicating with each other.
 2. A fiberoptic telecommunications device according to claim 1, wherein at leasttwo of the pivotally connected link arms include a compression springtherebetween to bias the link arms away from each other.
 3. A fiberoptic telecommunications device according to claim 1, wherein thechassis includes three slidable fiber optic trays arranged in avertically stacked arrangement, each chassis occupying a 1RU of standardtelecommunications rack space.
 4. A fiber optic telecommunicationsdevice according to claim 3, wherein the chassis includes three slidablefiber optic trays arranged in a vertically stacked arrangement on aright side of the chassis and three slidable fiber optic trays arrangedin a vertically stacked arrangement on a left side of the chassis, eachchassis occupying a 1RU of standard telecommunications rack space.
 5. Afiber optic telecommunications device according to claim 1, wherein thechassis includes twelve slidable fiber optic trays arranged in avertically stacked arrangement, each chassis occupying a 4RU of standardtelecommunications rack space.
 6. A fiber optic telecommunicationsdevice according to claim 5, wherein the chassis includes twelveslidable fiber optic trays arranged in a vertically stacked arrangementon a right side of the chassis and twelve slidable fiber optic traysarranged in a vertically stacked arrangement on a left side of thechassis, each chassis occupying a 4RU of standard telecommunicationsrack space.
 7. A fiber optic telecommunications device according toclaim 1, wherein the connection locations are defined by fiber opticadapters.
 8. A fiber optic telecommunications device according to claim7, wherein each adapter includes electrical contacts that are configuredto make an electrical connection with a fiber optic connector insertedinto the adapter, the electrical contacts communicating with acontroller mounted on the chassis, wherein the controller mounted on thechassis is configured to electrically communicate with a connectormounted on the telecommunications frame.
 9. A fiber optictelecommunications device according to claim 7, wherein the fiber opticadapters are mounted to the trays with a snap-fit interlock.
 10. A fiberoptic telecommunications device according to claim 7, wherein the fiberoptic adapters are LC-format adapters.
 11. A fiber optictelecommunications device according to claim 1, wherein the cablemanager includes five link arms that are pivotally connected to eachother.
 12. A fiber optic telecommunications device according to claim 1,wherein the plurality of fiber optic trays are removable from thetelecommunications chassis via a flexible lever.
 13. A fiber optictelecommunications device according to claim 1, wherein each tray ismounted on the chassis via a slide assembly that includes a gearmechanism.
 14. A fiber optic telecommunications device according toclaim 13, wherein the slide assembly houses a flexible printed circuitboard that flexes as the tray moves back and forth, the flexible printedcircuit board configured to relay information from the fiber opticconnection locations on the tray to other parts of the chassis.
 15. Afiber optic telecommunications device according to claim 14, wherein theflexible printed circuit board relays information from the fiber opticconnection locations on the tray to a central printed circuit board ofthe chassis, wherein the connection from a the flexible printed circuitboard to the central printed circuit board is made through removablemicro printed circuit board that is removably mounted within the slideassembly.
 16. A fiber optic telecommunications device according to claim15, wherein the micro printed circuit board includes at least onelight-emitting diode to identify a particular tray.
 17. A fiber optictelecommunications device according to claim 1, wherein the link armsare pivotally coupled with respect to each other so as to define alimited pivotal movement therebetween, wherein at least some of the linkarms include snap-fit coupling features defined by cylindrical tabs on afirst male end and cylindrical receptacles on an opposite second femaleend for providing the pivotal movement therebetween.
 18. A fiber optictelecommunications device according to claim 1, wherein the chassisincludes at least one pivot door with a spring-loaded latching mechanismfor allowing and limiting access to the plurality of fiber optic traysslidably mounted on the chassis. 19-36. (canceled)
 37. A fiber optictelecommunications tray comprising: first and second slide portions forslidably mounting the tray to a telecommunications fixture and aconnection portion located between the first and second slide portions;fiber optic connection locations defined by the connection portion ofthe tray for connecting cables; and a cable manager coupled at a firstend to the fiber optic tray and defining a second end for coupling tothe telecommunications fixture receiving the tray, the cable managerconfigured for routing cables to and from the fiber optic connectionlocations, the cable manager defining a plurality of link arms that arepivotally connected to each other such that the cable manager retractsand extends with a corresponding movement of the tray with respect tothe fixture as the link arms pivot with respect to each other, whereinthe link arms are configured to pivot relative to each other to preventfiber optic cables managed therein from being bent in an arc having aradius of curvature that is less than a predetermined value during themovement of the tray, each link arm defining a top wall, a bottom wall,and two oppositely positioned sidewalls, wherein each link arm definesan open portion along at least one of the sidewalls and an open portionalong the top wall for receiving fiber optic cables therein, the openportions along the top wall and the at least one of the sidewallscommunicating with each other.
 38. A fiber optic telecommunications trayaccording to claim 37, wherein at least two of the pivotally connectedlink arms include a compression spring therebetween to bias the linkarms away from each other.
 39. A fiber optic telecommunications trayaccording to claim 37, wherein the connection locations are defined byfiber optic adapters.
 40. A fiber optic telecommunications trayaccording to claim 39, wherein the fiber optic adapters are mounted tothe tray with a snap-fit interlock.
 41. A fiber optic telecommunicationstray according to claim 39, wherein the fiber optic adapters areLC-format adapters.
 42. A fiber optic telecommunications tray accordingto claim 39, wherein the cable manager includes five link arms that arepivotally connected to each other.